Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, July 6, 1995 TAG: 9507060051
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DAN CASEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
As efforts continue to have Roanoke declared a disaster area in the wake of flooding last week, city officials are hoping they can secure long-term relief for Garden City residents through a federal program that might pay for flood-proofing homes or, in the worst cases, buying them.
Meanwhile, officials said rains were so heavy on an already rain-soaked Mill Mountain that hardly anything could have prevented flooding in Garden City - and that it would have occurred whether or not any of the mountain had been developed.
The National Weather Service on Wednesday said more than 4 inches of rain fell on the mountain June 28 during a 75-minute period beginning at 6 p.m.
It was measured on an Integrated Flood Warning System gauge on the mountain. The gauge is one of many computerized monitors installed around the Roanoke and New River valleys since 1985, when Roanoke experienced the worst flooding in its history.
"That rate is very unusual," said meteorologist Jan Jackson, a 10-year veteran of the Weather Service in the Roanoke-Blacksburg area. "I can't recall ever seeing it rain that hard on an I-FLOWS gauge.
The total is almost 1 inch more than the 3.16 inches that Roanoke usually gets in the entire month of June, according to the National Weather Service.
By contrast, the fastest recorded rate of rainfall during the flood of 1985 was 2.02 inches per hour, said Jerry Stenger, research coordinator for the state climatology office in Charlottesville.
Back then, on the worst of four very rainy days, 6.23 inches of rain fell over 15 hours.
Angry residents of Garden City last week suggested that development on the mountain played a role in the flooding of their neighborhood. The topic is likely to arise again tonight at a meeting at the Bible Baptist Church on Garden City Boulevard Southeast at 7.
City Public Works Director Bill Clark said the mountain's soil was saturated from rain that fell in the days leading up to the June 28 storm. Saturated ground absorbs water poorly, if at all.
"Whether or not there was any development in that watershed ... everything that fell was going to run off anyway," Clark said. "It's almost as if that whole watershed was paved."
Statistically, a rain of that magnitude and the resulting floods should occur only once in 100 years.
That fact is little comfort to residents of Garden City in the short term, but it may have significance in the future.
Early this year, the city submitted a "statement of interest" to a Federal Emergency Management Agency grant program for flood mitigation projects.
It could affect homes and businesses in the 100-year flood plain, like parts of Garden City. The city is awaiting a invitation from FEMA to make a formal application.
If Roanoke wins funding, it would pay for moving homes that are in the flood plain; buying them outright and demolishing them; or making flood-proofing repairs, City Manager Bob Herbert said.
The grant program originally was envisioned as a speedier way to secure funding for a few flood-prone residents of Peters Creek Road. They have been waiting for the city to buy them out since the 1985 flood.
But because the city's preliminary application was made on behalf of the whole city, Garden City's flooding problems also may be included.
Beyond that, the city is trying to get a handle on total damages from the flooding as it appeals an initial determination that damages here weren't significant enough to merit federal declaration as a disaster area.
Buena Vista, Lexington, Staunton, Lynchburg and the counties of Albemarle, Augusta, Campbell, Culpeper, Giles, Greene, Madison and Rockbridge have been named disaster areas by FEMA. Roanoke and Bath County still are totaling up damages in an effort to be included.
Home and business owners in disaster areas are eligible for federal loans and grants to cover uninsured damages to homes and personal property.
City Council will hold a meeting today at 1 p.m. to certify the declaration of a local emergency, a prerequisite to being declared a disaster area.
by CNB