More than 400 Mingo families were displaced yesterday due to flooding which affected several counties in southwestern West Virginia and eastern Kentucky.

In the wake of a National Weather Service warning of Tug Fork River flooding at Williamson and Kermit and the Guyandotte River in Logan, Williamson officials sounded the siren and closed the flood gates after 2 p.m.

"We just closed the gates and are praying it don't rain," said Mingo County Emergency Management Director Jerrod Fletcher, who had been out evacuating families since 2 a.m. Saturday morning.

Heavy rains poured two to six inches throughout the Guyandotte and Big Sandy basins, reported the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Huntington, which began damage reduction operations Friday night.

Mingo County officials and other emergency crews had evacuated over 400 homes in North Matewan, Delbarton, Gilbert, Gilbert Creek, Magnolia Gardens, Pigeon Creek and Mate Creek, The number is higher than 400, Fletcher said, but officials had not assessed all damage at press time yesterday evening, as flooding was still a threat, and homeless people needed to be placed. The American Red Cross reportedly had a difficult time finding shelter due to roads blocked by water and mud slides.

"Most of them (the displaced) are staying with relatives," Fletcher said.

In South Williamson and the Belfry area of Pike County Kentucky water covered U.S. 119, and had reached homes in the Hardy and Toler, Ky. communities, covering Route 319 by Velocity Market and Hatfield Funeral Home. The water had invaded a couple of homes and the post office in the Hardy area. Hardy resident Jeanne Norman said she was awakened in the night by a call from family concerned about the flooding. When she and her husband walked out to assess the situation, the area where their vehicles set was under water, Norman said. Ironically, despite the water which invaded their garage, located under their house, Norman and other residents in the Hardy area were without water service.

However, the Normans had access to their home, unlike those Hardy residents whose bridges were wiped out by the rushing water.

Gov. Manchin declared a state of emergency in six counties in the southwestern end West Virginia - Mingo, Boone, Logan, McDowell, Raleigh and Wyoming. Manchin dispatched 30 National Guard troops and Department of Highway crews to assist with the evacuations.

The governor also ordered the implementation of the state’s Emergency Operations Plan and activation of the state’s Emergency Operations Center. The state of emergency allows the governor to direct special resources to the affected areas that otherwise would not be available.

Unrelated to the flooding, according to Fletcher, the third shift at Bens Creek Mine in Gilbert was trapped inside yesterday as water filled up a dip in the man-trip road. Mine officials reported a pump malfunctioned, and the miners were in no danger.