Floods in West Virginia kill 23

Flooding in the US state of West Virginia killed 23 people and stranded others who had to be plucked from rooftops and rescued from fast-moving waters, state officials said Friday.

"The damage is widespread and devastating. Our focus remains on search and rescue," Governor Earl Ray Tomblin told a news conference after floods caused by a day of heavy rains.

Tomblin gave a death toll of 14 from the disaster, but later Friday Jessica Tice, with the state's Homeland Security and Emergency Management office, told AFP that the toll had reached 23.

At least six counties have extensive structural damage and about 66,000 people were without power, the governor said.