Two people have died in flash floods caused by torrential rains in West Virginia last week, the governor’s office said.
An emailed statement from Lars Dalseide, communications director for Gov. Patrick Morrisey, did not provide details on where the bodies were found or how the people died. Their identities were not immediately released.
They are the first confirmed deaths from last week’s floods, when forecasters said up to 7 inches of rain fell. Morrisey said some places received 4.5 inches in 37
minutes. Officials in north-central West Virginia have described the devastation as extensive.
Video and photos on social media showed submerged vehicles in parking lots, including at a Walmart in Weston where muddy water surged into the store. Across
a nearby highway, a hotel’s main floor was inundated. Dozens of people stuck in submerged vehicles throughout the region had to be rescued, and floodwaters initially cut off access to them in some areas.
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Nationally, the US effective approved homeowners rate change declined from about 13.6% in 2024, to about 6.3% in 2025, to now about 1.8% through July 2026.
“This downward trend suggests carriers have largely completed the national adequacy reset and are now looking for price change as needed or as necessitated by jurisdiction, peril mix and regulatory timing,” said S&P GMI.
S&P GMI said rates in some high-loss exposure areas are rising. The overall slowdown is not
a reflection of declining risk, but it is a signal that prior rate filings are being earned and allowing home insurers to pause rate increases in those regions.
S&P GMI also said the rate-change decline “reflects the byproduct of broad-based, non-rate actions” like higher deductibles, rate tiering based on property age and condition, and better risk selection.
Meanwhile, using its Capital IQ Pro RateWatch application, S&P noticed the rate-increa
se heat map shifted to certain regions where there may be a timing issues due to regulatory approvals.
“That helps explain stabilization in headline figures alongside continued pressure where underlying loss patterns have not normalized,” S&P said. “
The rate changes across some states and peril classes have already absorbed enough rate to catch up, while others still sit behind adequacy.”