Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, July 14, 1995 TAG: 9507140075
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: TODD JACKSON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The declaration - made by the Federal Emergency Management Agency - will allow county residents to apply for grants and loans to cover flood damage, and will allow state-road washouts to be repaired using federal funds.
No estimate for Franklin County's flood damage has been determined, but Public Safety Director Claude Webster said "it's thousands upon thousands of dollars."
Two washouts on county roads will cost about $365,000 to repair, according to Doug Beatty, Franklin County's resident engineer with the Virginia Department of Transportation.
A washout on Virginia 652 - which caused the deaths of three men - will cost close to $150,000 to fix, Beatty said. The men died when the pickup truck in which they were traveling crashed into the hole, measured at 40 feet wide and 25 feet deep.
Another washout, on Virginia 630 just a couple of miles from the one on 652, will cost about $115,000, according to VDOT.
Emergency contracts were approved by the state for repair of the two washouts, and Beatty said contractors will view the sites today.
VDOT will apply to FEMA for available road funds now that the declaration has been made, he said.
Beatty has been traveling around the county assessing sites of "extraordinary damage" left by the flooding. There are 37 on the list.
One recently discovered site was a bridge over the Pigg River on Virginia 890. He said debris is packed so tight under the bridge that it's going to take more than $100,000 to clean it out and repair the bridge.
"I've never seen anything like it before," Beatty said.
Franklin County residents with damage claims should call the FEMA hot line at (800)462-9029.
After a resident files an application form, a FEMA representative will schedule an on-site visit, Webster said.
In addition to Franklin County, 20 Virginia localities - including Roanoke, Bedford, Bedford County, Lynchburg, Buena Vista, Lexington, Giles County, Rockbridge County and Pittsylvania County - have been designated disaster areas.
Roanoke is eligible for individual federal assistance only, while the other localities are eligible for both individual and public aid, said Mike LaCivita, public relations director for the Virginia Department of Emergency Services.
Memo: Shorter version ran in Metro edition.