Small West Virginia business district grapples with flood aftermath following deadly storms

A Wheeling, West Virginia business owner, Doug Flight, joins FOX Weather to talk about the damage to his store during the flooding late Saturday evening.

WHEELING, W.Va. – The city of Wheeling, West Virginia, is grappling with the aftermath of devastating flash floods that swept through the area over the weekend. 

The sudden surge of floodwaters on Saturday evening turned streets into raging rivers, inundating businesses and tragically claiming lives and homes.

WEST VIRGINIA FLASH FLOODING LEAVES AT LEAST 7 DEAD AS DAMAGE ASSESSMENT, CLEANUP UNDERWAY

Cars were removed from Wheeling Creek in West Virginia on Monday, June 16, 2025. That’s after torrential rain prompted a flash flood emergency over the weekend.

Elm Grove, a neighborhood within Wheeling, bore a significant brunt of the flooding, with many businesses submerged. Among them is the Winkin Sun Company, a family-owned business now facing the daunting task of cleaning up mud and water from inside their shop.

The store’s owner, Doug Flight, recounted the shocking events to FOX Weather on Monday evening. 

“I wasn’t expecting any of it for the community,” Flight said as he witnessed the creek, located just hundreds of feet from his store, sweeping through the bridge. “As I was watching it, the water started coming up the street towards my store.”

WEST VIRGINIA APARTMENT COLLAPSES AMID FLASH FLOOD: ‘LIKE A WATERFALL, GUSHING OUT THE WINDOW’

A video shared by the fire department in Wheeling, West Virginia, shows mud and debris in flood waters on Saturday, June 14, 2025.

Flight quickly moved his vehicle to safety and then, along with other Elm Grove residents, watched for several hours as it rose higher and came out onto the street and inundated his store and surrounding businesses.

“It was literally within a period of about 15-20 minutes that I watched it kind of flood our area,” Flight said.

WHEELING MAYOR SAYS RECOVERY PROCESS HAS STARTED AFTER DEADLY WEST VIRGINIA FLOODING

While Elm Grove’s business district was hit hard, Flight said that some other areas of Ohio County suffered much more extreme damage. 

“Multiple people have lost their lives, homes, all their belongings,” he added.

Flight is now undergoing a massive cleanup effort with his family and friends, attempting to salvage what they can. He lauded the swift efforts of first responders and volunteers. 

“Everybody just came through astoundingly yesterday and today and probably going into the rest of this week,” he praised. 

APARTMENT BUILDING PARTIALLY COLLAPSES IN FAIRMONT, WEST VIRGINIA, AMID FLASH FLOODING

At least six people have been killed, and two others remain unaccounted for after dangerous flash flooding impacted Wheeling and surrounding communities in West Virginia over the weekend, Gov. Patrick Morrisey told FOX Weather Command Monday morning.

For Flight, the future of Winkin Sun Company remains uncertain. 

“I can’t even think far enough ahead at the moment,” he admitted, grappling with the difficult decision of whether to stay open, move or retire. After 12 years in business, he and his team are focused solely on the major cleanup mode.

The path to recovery will be long for Flight and his neighbors. Flight anticipates that utility companies and property owners will conduct inspections to determine the structural integrity of buildings, with some potentially being condemned.

“We just continue to clean up the mess, and we’ll be probably doing that for a few weeks here,” Flight said. “We’ll just take it day by day as we go.”