Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, June 30, 1995 TAG: 9507030135
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DWAYNE YANCEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
They'd been out sightseeing the damage left by the 7 to 8 inches of rain that pounded the region the night before.
The National Weather Service warned that more rain is on the way, every day, until the middle of next week. Meteorologist Danielle Desrosiers in Blacksburg jokingly forecast "scattered thundershowers from now until the end of time."
More seriously, the weather service said today would be "fairly active" with thunderstorms, and warned that the ground is so saturated that any sudden downpour could produce more flash flooding.
A front of dry air from the Midwest is expected to reach the Appalachians over the weekend. Forecasters hope it will push the clouds hovering over us out to sea, although they worry that the front might be too weak to do the job.
Even so, the air remains so moist that the summertime heat continues to boil up afternoon thunderstorms with frustrating regularity. Desrosiers said the situation "won't start to improve until the middle of next week."
While the Roanoke Valley stayed dry into Thursday night despite a flash flood watch, Pulaski County was soaked with two inches of rain in 1 1/2 hours. The storm moved slowly, causing flash flooding, according to Rich Kane, a National Weather Service science and operations officer.
From the Roanoke Valley to Rockbridge County, people spent Thursday cleaning up and assessing the damage from Wednesday's storm:
nIn Lexington, Buena Vista and Rockbridge County, the places hit hardest, damage was officially estimated at $47.6 million. More than two dozen secondary roads, along with parts of Virginia 39 from Lexington to Goshen and U.S. 501 between Glasgow and Buena Vista, remained closed.
nIn Roanoke, where the flooding was concentrated in Garden City, a neighborhood built in a large gully between two ridges, damage was estimated at $877,000. Two homes were destroyed, two suffered major damage and at least 50 others sustained minor damage. Eight cars were reported swept away.
The city declared an emergency, a designation that would make homeowners and business owners eligible for federal aid if President Clinton declares the state a disaster area.
nIn Salem, the other part of the Roanoke Valley submerged Wednesday, there was no official damage estimate, but 100 homes and 10 businesses were affected in varying degrees.
At one point during the storm, an underground stream beneath the Salem Farmers' Market roared to the surface in a "raging torrent," in the words of City Manager Randy Smith, blocked Main Street and forced its way into the first floor of City Hall.
A team of federal inspectors will begin to tour flood-stricken communities today. Gov. George Allen will be in Buena Vista along with Sen. John Warner, R-Va., and the director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, James Lee Witt.
They plan to meet residents at Parry McCluer Middle School at 3 p.m.
Staff writers Dan Casey, Todd Jackson, Sarah Huntley, Jan Vertefeuille, Mike Hudson, Ron Brown, Greg Edwards, Lisa K. Garcia and Jeff Sturgeon contributed information to this story.
Keywords:
FATALITY
by CNB