In February 2025, historic flooding tore through southern West Virginia, devastating counties like McDowell, Mercer, Mingo, and Wyoming. Torrential rain triggered flash floods and mudslides, displacing hundreds and damaging thousands of homes. The Tug Fork and Bluestone Rivers surged over their banks, overwhelming aging infrastructure and washing out key roadways. Three people were confirmed dead, dozens were rescued and left trapped in houses for days, and more than 50,000 residents lost power. The West Virginia National Guard was deployed to assist with rescue and recovery, while FEMA designated four counties eligible for individual assistance. Entire communities were left stranded in the aftermath, with many residents unable to access basic services or clean water.
Governor Patrick Morrisey’s response to the February 2025 floods was widely criticized as slow, insufficient, and politically calculated. Despite the devastation unfolding in real time, Morrisey waited several days to formally request federal disaster assistance, delaying the deployment of critical resources. FEMA aid was not approved until nearly a week after the floods began, leaving displaced families without support during the most urgent recovery window.
Only a limited number of National Guard troops were deployed—far fewer than in previous disasters of similar scale—leaving rural counties like McDowell and Mingo to rely on volunteers and improvised relief efforts, including the the use of mule teams and ATV’s to reach isolated areas.
As communities were drowning and infrastructure crumbled, Morrisey spent his time publicly fuming over West Virginia University's exclusion from the NCAA tournament. Rather than focusing his energy on disaster relief, the governor threatened legal action against the NCAA, issuing statements and doing media hits about bracket snubs while flood victims waited for bottled water and emergency shelter. He appeared more engaged in a basketball controversy than in coordinating a life-saving response. While Morrisey held delayed press conferences and made vague promises about long-term recovery, residents were left cold, stranded, and angry. His failure to invest in flood mitigation in the years prior only magnified the damage—turning what could have been a difficult but manageable disaster into a preventable tragedy.