Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, July 2, 1995 TAG: 9507030036
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: F.J. GALLAGHER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Along Garden City Boulevard in Roanoke, residents whose homes were flooded by a nearby creek began cleaning yards and homes, piling debris by the side of the road. Up and down the street, city crews worked even as the National Weather Service issued yet another in a seemingly endless string of flash-flood watches.
"We've got thunderstorms on the radar and they're moving east" toward Roanoke, meteorologist Pete Snyder said. "It's the same situation as the previous one was with these hit-or-miss thunderstorms. Some areas will get soaked and others will get nothing."
David Dooley, superintendent of Roanoke's street and traffic department, said repair crews were delaying some repair projects in anticipation of more rain.
"We don't want to start repairing permanent structures yet," he said. "It could be counterproductive and all just get washed away."
Crews were busy clearing blocked drainage channels and making some repairs that simply could not wait, he said.
"We've got everybody who was scheduled for today out there. There's guys from the street department, utility department and grounds. They're basically just doing whatever [repair work] they find that needs doing."
Dooley said most of the city's personnel were working along the Garden City Boulevard corridor, replacing the road's washed-out shoulder and repairing sewer and utility lines. At the same time, engineers were checking the integrity of the area's roads and bridges.
At Ivywood Avenue and Glenoak Street, Mike Milles and several other city workers installed 16 feet of pipe to replace a section of sewer line destroyed by the flood. In the gully below lay chunks of broken metal, all that remained of the old pipe.
"That water, it's got some terrible force behind it," Milles said.
Many Garden City Boulevard residents had insurance against damage resulting from that force. Others did not. At least one homeowner who thought he was covered discovered his insurance was essentially useless.
Friday afternoon, Melvin Jackson's insurance company informed him that his home, which wasn't heavily damaged, was covered by his policy. Everything inside the home was not covered.
"We were told by the mortgage company that we needed flood insurance and they said they would take care of it," Jackson said. "We took it for granted that they would, but only the house itself is covered, not the contents.
"I'm lucky it didn't do any more damage that it did, but it does disgust you to think you've got something and then find out that you don't."
Farther down the road, Linda Gillespie hosed down her driveway, washing away mud and silt. Her insurance agent hadn't been out to assess the damage to her home.
"That shed over there, that used to be in my neighbor's yard and it's got a big riding lawnmower still in it," she said, pointing to a white shed that had come to rest in her front yard. "The water's never gotten way up here, not even in '85." The flood had carried her own shed into her neighbor's yard, nearly 100 feet from where it once stood
Meanwhile, Virginia Department of Transportation crews hoped to keep valley roads clear.
Bill Manning, an assistant engineer for VDOT's Salem district, said all primary and secondary roads in Roanoke, Botetourt and Craig counties were open and passable, for now.
"Crews spent the day clearing washouts here and there, clearing a few small slides and clearing entrance pipes and cross pipes" to allow drainage, he said. "We're trying to ensure that everything's ready if it rains again."
VDOT workers, he said, will remain on standby over the weekend.
by CNB