“I weep for my people,” she said. “I weep for the businesses.”

The county is home to a luxury resort and golf course that was scheduled to host a P.G.A. tournament from July 4 to 10. But the course, like much of the surrounding countryside, was overrun by floodwaters and the event was canceled. “Canceling the Greenbrier Classic is certainly the most prudent course of action as our foremost concern is the well-being of those who are having to live through this tragic situation,” the P.G.A. Tour commissioner, Tim Finchem, said in a news release. “Our thoughts and prayers are with them.”

The owner of the resort said that while it was closed for business, he would offer a limited number of free rooms and meals to house some of the people affected by the floods.

The powerful storms appeared to have caught many people off guard.

Hundreds of people were left stranded, and bodies that were recovered from houses — including those of a man and two women at one location, all presumed to have drowned, officials said — suggested that either people did not have enough time to flee, or did not heed warnings to evacuate.

The state remained under a state of emergency on Sunday, with more than 17,000 homes and business still without power. Late Saturday, President Obama declared a major disaster in the state that frees up federal funding for relief in three of the hardest-hit counties — Kanawha, Nicholas and Greenbrier.