
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, March 30, 1993                   TAG: 9303300193
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

FLOODING CONTINUES DOWNSTREAM OF RIVER

The snow and rain that hit the Roanoke Valley during the past two weeks is still causing flooding of sorts downstream of the Roanoke River.

Water from the Roanoke River flows into the John H. Kerr Reservoir in Mecklenburg County. Since the March 13 blizzard and rains that followed, the reservoir's level has risen to 315.5 feet, almost 16 feet above its normal level.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced that water release from the John H. Kerr Dam had to be increased to 31,000 cubic feet per second on Monday. It was anticipated that the level would have to be raised to 35,000 this morning.

The extra water runoff was expected to cause additional flooding in more than 5,000 acres of crop- and pastureland in several North Carolina counties. No industrialized areas were expected to be affected, according to the corps.

The reservoir is not expected to return to normal levels until May.

by CNB