Flash flooding caused by torrential rains killed five people in northern West Virginia and rescue crews were searching for three other people who were missing Sunday as authorities assessed damage to roads, bridges, natural gas lines and other infrastructure.

Officials said 2.5 to 4 inches of rain fell in parts of Wheeling and Ohio County within about a half hour Saturday night.

“We almost immediately started getting 911 calls for rescue of people being trapped,” Lou Vargo, Ohio County’s emergency management director, said Sunday. “During this time, we had major infrastructure damage to roads, bridges, and highways where we couldn’t respond to a lot of incidents. So we were delayed in getting there because there was just so much damage.”

Authorities said vehicles were swept into swollen creeks, some people sought safety in trees and a mobile home caught fire.

Swift flash flooding arrived in Marion County on Sunday, causing extensive damage to bridges, roads and some homes, the county said in a Facebook post.

— The Associated Press