At least five people were killed Thursday and Friday in West Virginia and one man died in Virginia. More than 500 homes and businesses were damaged or destroyed.

President Bush declared four West Virginia counties disaster areas, making residents eligible for federal relief. The Red Cross and the Salvation Army distributed food and cleaning supplies to flood victims at 12 emergency shelters in the state.

Some residents were anguished after being hit by flooding for the second time in less than a year, said Capt. Bob Mullions of the Salvation Army.

``McDowell County just looks like a war zone,'' Mullions said. ``It was bad last year, it was catastrophic. But this is, believe me, up several paces from that.''

The July flood and other heavy rains last spring were blamed for at least six deaths in West Virginia alone.

In the past few days, water poured down mountainsides and overflowed streams and rivers where West Virginia, Kentucky and Virginia meet, flooding towns in minutes.

About 7,000 customers in West Virginia were without running water Sunday and several roads remained closed due to high water, mudslides and heavy damage. By Sunday afternoon, power had been restored to all but about 70 customers, American Electric Power said.

Gov. Bob Wise planned to visit the region Sunday afternoon. The state Office of Emergency Services did not yet have a financial estimate of the damages.

The Red Cross had served 3,000 meals since Saturday, while the Salvation Army had served about 2,700 meals.

``That number is going to increase dramatically over the next week as we get more into the affected areas,'' Red Cross spokesman Chris Dale said.

Dale said the Red Cross moved its disaster relief headquarters from Beckley to Bluefield, Va., to center relief efforts in West Virginia, Virginia and Kentucky.

``We will continue helping and diligently working to reach every person affected by this disaster,'' he said.

In Fort Gay, Mayor Lawrence Thompson said he is angry about the third spill of coal waste from a mine into his town's drinking supply in as many years. Several million gallons of coal slurry, known as blackwater, spilled into the Tug Fork of West Virginia's Big Sandy River during the flooding.

On Friday, environmental officials discovered blackwater spilling from an inactive Antaeus Energy mine at the rate of 5,000 gallons a minute. The discharge was caused by runoff washing over containment ponds full of coal and silt, said Michael Callaghan, secretary of the state Department of Environmental Protection.

By Sunday afternoon, the blackwater had reached Fort Gay and the town was treating the water. Since Antaeus has filed for bankruptcy, the state will decide how to pay for treating the water.

``The river is ruined,'' Thompson said. ``I don't think it would ever be back right again.''

State and federal officials were also trying to assess damage Sunday in southwest Virginia where one man was reported missing.

Search teams with dogs were combing flooded areas in Buchanan and Tazewell counties, a Virginia Department of Emergency Management spokeswoman said.

The Virginia National Guard was helping erect temporary bridges while FEMA was assessing damage to recommend to President Bush whether to declare a federal disaster to the area.

In Kentucky, emergency officials resumed searching Sunday for a man missing since the storms caused flooding in the mountainous area along the state's eastern border.

Adam Daniels, 24, of Freeburn, was swept away by floodwaters Thursday night. His car stalled in high water and he tried to walk back to dry land, state police said. A passenger in his car escaped the water and reported Daniels' plight to authorities.