...The new data shows that Mr. Manchin’s constituents stand to suffer disproportionately as climate change intensifies. Unlike those in other flood-exposed states, most residents in mountainous West Virginia have little room to relocate from the waterways that increasingly threaten their safety.
Damage to Clendenin, in southern West Virginia, in 2016.
Destroyed homes in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va., in 2016. Torrential rains caused the floods, which were blamed for 23 deaths and hundreds of ruined homes.
...Adding to the problem, West Virginia officials have struggled to better protect residents, despite a surge of federal money, experts say. They point to a reluctance among state officials to even talk about climate change, and to housing that is not built for the challenge, leaving West Virginia less able than other parts of the country to adapt.
...A clean electricity program would reward utilities that switch from burning oil, gas and coal to using wind, solar and nuclear energy, and penalize those that don’t. It is designed to get 80 percent of the country’s electricity from clean sources by 2030, up from 40 percent now.
A spokeswoman for Mr. Manchin, Sam Runyon, said the senator “has long acknowledged the impacts of climate change in West Virginia. That is why he’s worked hard to find a path forward on important climate legislation that maintains American leadership in energy innovation and critical energy reliability.”
...First Street calculated the portion of all kinds of infrastructure at risk of becoming inoperable because of a so-called 100-year flood — a flood that statistically has a 1 percent chance of happening in any given year. The group compared the results for every state except Alaska and Hawaii. In many cases, West Virginia topped the list.
Sixty-one percent of West Virginia’s power stations are at risk, the highest nationwide and more than twice the average. West Virginia also leads in the share of its roads at risk of inundation, at 46 percent.
...“The geography and topography of the state results in many homes, roads and pieces of critical infrastructure being built along rivers, around which we show extensive flooding,” said Michael Lopes, a spokesman for First Street.
But topography isn’t all that raises West Virginia’s flood risk. Surface mining for coal has removed soil and vegetation that once absorbed rain before it reached creeks and rivers, and has pushed rocks and dirt into those waterways, making them less able to contain large volumes of water.
...Kevin Law, the state climatologist, said research showed “an increase in extreme precipitation across West Virginia,” the result of a changing climate.
Muhammet Ariturk on a flood-damaged parking lot in front of his restaurant in Morgantown.
Mary Anne and Bob Marner in their basement which flooded twice recently, sending raw sewage into their Morgantown home both times.
...As flooding gets worse, West Virginia’s leaders, including Mr. Manchin, should stop viewing the state’s identity as tied to coal, said Jamie Shinn, a geography professor at West Virginia University who focuses on adapting to climate change.
“I don’t think he’s defending the future economy and viability of this state,” Dr. Shinn said. “The state has so much potential beyond fossil fuels.”
Dave Biggins, whose convenience store in Tunnelton flooded this summer, causing $80,000 in damage. “I don’t think I could handle another hit like that,” he said.
...“I’m a big advocate for using the natural resources that we have,” said Jim Hall, the Farmington resident and cousin-in-law of Mr. Manchin’s.
Forced to choose between burning less coal or suffering through worsening floods, he said worsening floods were the lesser danger.
“You can replace a house,” Mr. Hall said. “That’s the risk we’re willing to take.”
Jim Hall, Mr. Manchin’s cousin-in-law, outside his home in Farmington. “These last few years here in West Virginia, we’ve had unbelievable amounts of rain,” he said, though he supports the coal industry.
