WHEELING, W.Va. – At least three people have been killed and others remain missing after dangerous flash flooding impacted Wheeling and surrounding communities in West Virginia this weekend.

West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey provided a somber update on Facebook Sunday morning when he announced the deaths due to the flooding event that took place.

“Very sad to share that last night’s flash flooding in Wheeling has resulted in multiple fatalities, with some folks still missing,” he said. “I have declared a state of emergency for Ohio County.”

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Lou Vargo, the director of the Wheeling-Ohio County Emergency Management Agency, joined FOX Weather on Sunday morning when he confirmed at least three deaths.

“We received about 2.5-4 inches of rain through the city and the towns of Valley Grove and Tridelphia,” he said. “We have had major infrastructure damage to roads and bridges. We have had multiple fatalities, and we still have reports of missing persons.”

He said that as soon as the rain began on Saturday, 911 calls requesting help were received, and some people were forced to cling to trees to not be carried away by the fast-moving floodwaters.

Numerous Flash Flood Warnings and a rare Flash Flood Emergency were issued by the National Weather Service office in Pittsburgh late Saturday night and early Sunday morning as the rain was falling, overwhelming rivers and streams and sending water rushing into communities.

In addition, Vargo said drones and cadaver dogs are searching for those who are missing.

“We’re also working with family members to see if they just were displaced,” Vargo said. “We also have a mass-care center set up for the people that we’ve evacuated from parts of the Valley Grove and Tridelphia area.”

Because of the damage to infrastructure, like roads and bridges, emergency crews were unable to respond to some incidents.

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“So, we were delayed in getting there because there was just so much damage,” Vargo said at a news conference. “Unfortunately, during the rescues last night, we have confirmed there have been three fatalities, and we do have reports of missing persons.”

Residents have also been asked to stay out of the area for safety and to allow first responders to continue their heroic work searching for victims.

“So, we just plead for you to stay away from that area and let the first responders and the Department of Highways and all the services out there do our jobs so we can get citizens back into their homes as quickly as possible.”

Thousands of power outages have also been reported, but work to restore service cannot begin until natural gas leaks reported in the area have been resolved.

“Some of those houses could be in an explosive situation, so turning the power on could cause an explosion,” Vargo continued. “So, the power company and the gas company are working very closely together to coordinate everything.”

Flash flooding, severe storm threats expand to mid-Atlantic on Father’s Day

As recovery and cleanup begin in West Virginia, millions of people in the mid-Atlantic are now on alert for the possibility of flash flooding and severe weather on Father’s Day.

The FOX Forecast Center said that a zone of increased moisture is expected to set up across the region on Sunday, leading to widespread precipitation.

A slow-moving cold front will also drift to the south, focusing the heaviest rainfall south of the Interstate 64 corridor from West Virginia to Virginia, as well as along the Virginia-North Carolina border, where 1-3 inches of rain is possible with locally higher amounts.

The greatest risk of flash flooding will be found across West Virginia, Virginia and North Carolina, with portions of southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina placed in a Level 3 out of 4 flood threat by NOAA’s Weather Prediction Center.

Severe weather is also possible, and NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center placed that part of the mid-Atlantic in a Level 1 threat on its 5-point severe thunderstorm risk scale.

This risk zone includes cities such as Raleigh and Fayetteville in North Carolina and Richmond and Norfolk in Virginia.