CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Emergency managers in Kanawha County say they’ve done about all they can as they prepare for a worst case scenario out of the remnants of Hurricane Ida.
The storm which battered the state of Louisiana is arriving in West Virginia this afternoon and will deliver a thorough soaking to our region.
“All of our fire department water rescue units are on stand-by just in case. The Emergency Operations Center will open up this evening with at least a skeleton staff. We’ve contacted the Red Cross to make sure we are coordinated if we need sheltering,” said C.W. Sigman the Director of Emergency Management for Kanawha County.
He said it’s hard to plan for some things however without knowing exactly where flooding will occur. But he did feel fairly confident at least low lying areas of the county would see issues in the next 24 hours.
“Typical places like Ferrell Road in Tornado if the Coal River gets up it will flood. You have people who commonly get water in their basement and there are places where water gets into the road. Everybody just needs to keep their guard up, keep that good situational awareness, and keep up with the forecast,” he said.
Sigman was specifically concerned about night fall. Much of the rain from Ida will move through our region after dark and after several hours of rainfall before the sun goes down. The danger is magnified in the darkness when it’s impossible to tell for certain how high water has risen out of a creek bank.
The National Weather Service predicts the heavies rainfall will be along the Ohio River and then bend into the northern half of West Virginia or potentially parts of central West Virginia. The track leaves the Pocatalico River ripe for flooding. Forecasters are watching closely and fear the water on the Poca could rise as much as ten feet or more and create widespread problems in the Sissonville community.
“We’re watching that and it’s a real area of concern,” said Sigman.