SMITHERS, W.Va. — Tuesday marks the one-year anniversary of the U.S. Route-60 flood that impacted parts of Kanawha and Fayette counties.
A narrow but powerful storm produced 4-8 inches of rain over a very short period of time causing flash flooding in eastern Kanawha County, including high water on Campbells Creek, Kelley’s Creek and Hughes Creek, and flash flooding in Fayette County at Smithers, Cannelton Hollow and on Scrabble Creek near Gauley Bridge.
“It was totally unexpected,” Smithers Mayor Anne Cavalier reflected to MetroNews Monday. “We didn’t have a weather report for that and we live in a very narrow steep river valley and that much rain in that short of time caught us all by surprise.”
Cavalier said there remains a lot of damage that needs repaired including the city garage. Smithers is working with FEMA and the state Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management on documenting of damages in hopes of reimbursement.
Fayette County did receive a federal disaster declaration following the flood for public assistance which means the city will be reimbursed for costs. There was no declaration for individual assistance. Cavalier said Smithers sustained approximately $635,000 in damages.
Meanwhile, engineering and design work continues on the Kanawha Falls PSD sewer line that runs along Smithers Creek on Cannelton Hollow. Officials said approximately 2.5 miles of sewer line was destroyed in the flood. A new line will cost about $15 million.
The PSD’s largest customer on the line was the Mount Olive State Prison. A package sewer plant was installed there to handle the sewer needs of the prison until a new line goes in. Raw sewage from homes along that stretch of Smithers Creek is currently being dumped straight into the creek.
Cavalier said the recovery is progressing, although it’s slower than most would want. She said a year after the flood she’s thankful that no one lost their lives and she’s thankful for all of the help Smithers has received.
“We survived a 4 a.m. flood that could have taken lives but because of our residents and because people stepped up to help we didn’t lose any lives,” Cavalier said. “I want to say thank you to those people with big hearts who stepped up and helped us.”
Cavalier said state officials will be at Smithers Town Hall at 10 a.m. Tuesday to discuss the flood property buyout program with homeowners. She said residents of Smithers Creek, Stockton Avenue and Howard Avenue can attend.
Kanawha County looks back
Kanawha County Emergency Management Director C.W. Sigman said there was a lot of rain a year ago in a very small area.
“The whole county didn’t get a lot of rain but just in that narrow area,” Sigman said.
The water started to rise as residents were starting the day.
More than 100 homes sustained varying degrees of damage in Kanawha County. There was also a lot of bridge and road damage but there wasn’t enough damage for a federal disaster declaration.
Sigman said the county didn’t qualify for public assistance from FEMA because it wasn’t allowed to use road and bridge damage as part of its damage assessment numbers.
“If they are federal aid highways the state cannot use that in damage assessments because the feds have already paid for them. The damage that highways (DOH) had to fix was pretty significant but we couldn’t use that,” Sigman said.
He said there also wasn’t enough damage to homes for individual assistance from FEMA.
“We did not have an overwhelming number of homes that had water in the living areas. For those people who did have water in the living areas, it was significant damage but we just didn’t have enough to get past that threshold to get additional assistance other that what the Small Business Administration (loans) offered,” Sigman said.
Sigman said one thing to be learned from the Route 60 flood is that all storms should be taken seriously no matter how small they look.
“I wish I could tell exactly where and when and how bad it’s going to be–I wish I could tell you that–but nobody can,” Sigman said.