Roof collapses, trees blow over in downtown Charleston, other damage reported throughout Kanawha Valley

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CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Part of the roof of a vacant building blew off during Tuesday’s severe storms in downtown Charleston.

Bricks that fell from the top of the structured covered part of Quarrier Street between Leon Sullivan Way and Dickenson Street. That was only part of the damage left behind after 70-90 mile per hour winds rolled in.

Justin Puett owns Folklore Music Exchange just a few doors down. He said he didn’t even hear the partial roof collapse because the winds were so loud and only lasted 10 seconds.

“The winds were so crazy. My doors were flying open. Next thing I know there’s this loud roaring and there’s just shoots of white and gray flying through the air and you can’t see anything but maybe a couple pieces of debris flying through,” Puett told MetroNews.

The sign of Folklore Music Exchange fell off the building. That’s when Puett noticed the roof damage to the vacant building.

“I looked down the street and this happened. Debris is everywhere,” he said. “I was trying to keep my cool as much as possible, but the only thought you have is I hope this building holds up. I hope the power stays on. I hope my wife is okay. I hope my home is okay.”

Puett said the damage could’ve been much worse in such a heavily traveled area. No one was injured or killed.

“This could’ve been terrible. This is a prime spot for people for standing, for talking and for parking, so we’re very lucky that no one was parked there and everyone sheltered like they were supposed to,” he said.

A number of trees fell along the Kanawha Boulevard including one that was uprooted at the corner of Brooks Street. City of Charleston crews worked to cut through branches to remove the massive tree that blocked the middle of the road.

Other damage was reported in the South Hills neighborhood near George Washington High School, the fields at the Shawnee Sports Complex and a massive Tudor’s sign fell over in Dunbar.

Cell phone service and power was knocked out to thousands of residents.

Chief Deputy Joe Crawford with the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office said there was heavy, severe damage done starting from the west and spreading east across the Kanawha Valley and beyond.

“There was a tractor trailer I believe that blew over on the interstate there in South Charleston and the interstate was temporarily shut down, I have not gotten any reports yet or not whether that’s back open,” Crawford said during an interview with MetroNews earlier in the day Tuesday. “Currently, we have 7 units on scene responding to calls in the county for help in extensive damage.”

However, he said emergency services have been preparing for this storm since Monday, and crews with Metro 911 are currently deployed out to locations across the valley.

Amy Shuler Goodwin

“This is what we do in times of emergencies like this, we’re ahead of the game, we’re pre-planning, and getting ahead of the game by having these plans in place,” said Crawford.

Charleston Mayor Amy Shuler Goodwin said crews with the city are also out making assessments and starting repairs from the damages that was done during the peak of the storm Tuesday.

She said that damage was extensive.

“A lot of damage that was done, a lot of damage,” she said. “A lot of trees in the road, a lot of power lines down, a lot of power out.”

Goodwin said she conducted a shelter-in-place in the basement of city hall for the first time ever as mayor. However, she said many of the city workers who have been there for over 30 years also said it was a first for them, as well.

She said Tuesday’s storm resurfaced old, eerie memories of the derecho that hit the state back in June of 2012.

“It was eerily reminiscent of the day I was sitting in the governor’s office with Governor Tomblin and the derecho hit, the sound was the same, the feeling was the same, the wind was the same, the pattern looked very similar,” she said.

Goodwin said now, pulling out of the wake of this storm, there will need to be a lot more damage control and repairs being rendered, which may stretch on for days, weeks, and even months.

She said she believes no where in the area got off scot-free following the storm.

Scott James

“It’s light poles, it’s trees, it’s roofs of homes, it’s garages, there are some houses that may have much more damage than others, but I’m not sure if there is a neighborhood in the city of Charleston that’s not going to see some bit of damage,” Goodwin said.

In St. Albans, Mayor Scott James reports the same.

He said hillsides from Vine Street east towards Charleston– including places like Poplar Street, Sweet Acres, Hughes Drive, and Shrewsbury Heights– saw the most extensive damage, but everywhere in the St. Albans area caught it.

“We’ve got downed trees, downed powerlines, we’ve been cleaning up at my house, part of my roof was damaged a little bit,” James said.

He said St. Albans city crews are out clearing roadways and trying to get the damage under control the best they can.

However, he said if there are any downed trees blocking the roads that also involve powerlines, the city crews can’t touch them and they must wait for West Virginia Appalachian Power crews to come and clear it.

This is a developing story.