A video about a couple who moved into their newly built dream home, only to later find the river beside it had dried up, has gone viral on TikTok.
The clip was shared by Krissy Bodnovich (@hotrodbod_), a 33-year-old freelance social media specialist and content creator living in Harman, West Virginia. The video has been viewed over 3.3 million times since it was posted on September 1.
Text overlaid on the video reads: “Talk about bad luck … we built a house along the river, and it dried up 4 months later.” The caption of the post adds: “On the bright side, at least we’re no longer in the flood zone.”
Bodnovich told Newsweek: “The property has been in my boyfriend’s family for many generations. This has always been his dream to move here one day, and the timing was right, so we finally did it.”
The couple moved into their riverside property in May, following a six-month construction effort led by Bodnovich’s boyfriend, a contractor who built the house himself. Though the house is still not entirely finished, it was intended as their long-term residence.
The unexpected disappearance of the river came as a shock. “We had no idea the river was going to leave as soon as we got here,” Bodnovich said.
When asked what had caused the change, she pointed to ongoing dry weather. “We’ve had a really dry August and September,” Bodnovich said.
The National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) said that, as of September 16, around 1.7 million West Virginia residents were living in areas experiencing drought. That marked a 52.2 percent increase from the previous week, based on data from the U.S. Drought Monitor.
Though West Virginia is one of the smaller U.S. states by area, its distinct geography—with both northern and eastern panhandles and the Central Appalachian Mountains running through the eastern region—leads to significant variation in annual rainfall.
“The variation of geography and topography causes precipitation to fluctuate significantly across the state, including periods of drought,” says NIDIS, adding that, while the western part of the state can receive more than 60 inches of precipitation annually, the eastern side may see just over 30 inches.
This topographic disparity creates unpredictable precipitation patterns, with the state historically swinging between extreme drought and excessive rainfall. Notable droughts have occurred in 1904, 1930-31, 1941, 1954, 1966, and 1988. During the 1930-31 drought, almost the entire state was classified under what would today be called “exceptional drought” conditions for an eight-month stretch. Although increased precipitation since the 2000s has somewhat reduced the frequency and severity of droughts, intermittent dry periods continue to affect the region, the NIDIS notes.
Despite the river’s disappearance in the viral TikTok clip, the couple have no plans to leave.
“We’ll be staying regardless,” Bodnovich said. “We put too much time and effort into building our forever home to let this ruin our plans.”
Do you have a travel-related video or story to share? Let us know via [email protected] and your story could be featured on Newsweek.