Editor’s Notes: A history of deadly flash floods

# Summary

West Virginia experienced two tornadoes and severe flooding on July 21, 2026, damaging homes across the region and killing at least two people in Upshur and Lewis counties. The storms forced evacuations of dozens of residents to emergency shelters and prompted rescue and recovery operations. The flooding follows a history of deadly flash floods in West Virginia, including events in 1943 (23 dead), 1977 (22 dead), 1985 (47 dead), and 2016 (23 dead), with the state's steep terrain and stream development making rapid runoff particularly dangerous during heavy rain.