About 200 tombstones in West Virginia cemetery washed away by mud
WHEELING, W. Va. (KDKA) -- About 200 tombstones in a Wheeling, West Virginia, cemetery were washed away by mud and rain.
Thousands of people are buried at the Wheeling Mt. Zion Cemetery, CBS affiliate WTRF reports. Graves date back to the early 1800s, with some contemporary burials there as well. There are about 400 veterans buried at the cemetery, the TV station said.
Volunteers, who care for the cemetery about an hour from Pittsburgh, said while monuments and topsoil were torn off, the caskets weren't. The president of the Wheeling Mt. Zion Cemetery Corporation told WTRF that the graves are believed to be OK.
The 200-some tombstones were washed out after powerful storms and floods hit the Ohio Valley, the TV station reported. People came to look at the devastation, checking on loved ones' graves.
The volunteer group is now asking for directions and advice. Anyone with information about possible help is asked to call 304-281-3441, according to WTRF.
It's been a similar scene in Pittsburgh, where the three rivers flooded landmarks, swallowing up Point State Park's fountain and encroaching on steps up to Acrisure Stadium. In Greene County, dramatic video showed a building perched on the edge of a hillside as the land fell away beneath it.
The Ohio River at the Point crested just shy of major flood levels, and the last time it was this high was in 2005. More rain is expected Thursday, but totals shouldn't be higher than a quarter of an inch.
