ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, September 6, 1996 TAG: 9609060042
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DAN CASEY STAFF WRITER
NOTE: Below
Disaster workers in Western Virginia on Thursday and early this morning were preparing for the possibility of flash flooding later today and Saturday as the National Weather Service predicted the eye of Hurricane Fran could pass within 100 miles of the Roanoke Valley.
Roanoke was trying to be ready in case the storm is as bad as the 1985 flood, said Wanda Reed, the city's emergency services coordinator. That flood killed 10 people, wrecked scores of homes and businesses, and covered the heart of downtown with floodwaters.
The National Weather Service said about 3 to 5 inches of rain was expected in the Roanoke area today - an amount that could bring flash floods in some areas by tonight and push the Roanoke River at least 8 feet beyond flood stage. Isolated spots around the valley could receive 6 to 8 inches of rain.
The James River could reach 10 to 15 feet above flood stage, with Buchanan and Bedford County's Holcomb Rock community seeing water rise to within a few feet of their flood records today or Saturday, according to the National Weather Service in Blacksburg.
Emergency workers throughout the Roanoke and New River valleys and in Bedford were urging people who live in low-lying areas to move to higher ground or to emergency shelters that were being established Thursday night.
Officials expect at least 3 hours' warning of flooding along the river. But ground already saturated by heavy rains Tuesday and Wednesday cannot absorb any more water, they said.
"We cannot stress enough the importance of taking this threat seriously," Reed said. "The potential for flash flooding is very great. Even out of the flood plain, there is the potential for your home to be surrounded by water."
Gov. George Allen declared a state of emergency for all of Virginia, directing state agencies to take "all actions necessary" to protect health and safety.
The National Weather Service at Blacksburg thought the storm's eye would pass over Salem, then said it would move over Lynchburg. The Weather Service's 11 p.m. forecast said Fran had drifted farther east and was expected to pass 20 miles northeast of Charlottesville about 8 tonight, if it stayed on track.
For the Roanoke Valley, that indicated slight showers before midnight Thursday and heavy rainfall all day today as the hurricane moves north.
By the time Fran passes the area, the Weather Service predicts, its winds will have slowed to about 25 to 40 mph, with the higher gusts up on ridges.
Disaster officials in Roanoke, Roanoke County, Salem and Vinton established the Salem Civic Center as the valley's emergency shelter Thursday night and said others would be added if necessary. The Red Cross will staff the center and provide cots for people seeking shelter.
Meanwhile, hundreds of municipal employees in Roanoke and Vinton fanned out to low-lying neighborhoods, passing out fliers urging residents to leave their homes and move either to shelters or to friends' or relatives' homes in higher areas.
School spokesmen in Roanoke, Roanoke County and Salem said they would decide early today whether to close schools and would broadcast that information via television and radio.
The potential for small-stream flooding could pose a danger in getting children to schools, officials said.
"No one knows how fast the small streams might rise because of the rain we've had this week," said Richard Kelley, Roanoke's assistant superintendent for operations.
In Roanoke, the fire department canceled scheduled leave time, added eight firefighters to Friday's shifts, moved emergency equipment to higher ground and prepared a boat for rescue efforts.
The city canceled trash pickup today, putting workers on standby for flood duty. The city also postponed a Citizens Appreciation Day scheduled for Saturday at Valley View Mall and rescheduled it for Oct.5.
All local governments in the Roanoke and New River area said essential workers would be placed on standby and began staffing 24-hour emergency operations centers.
"We're just going to plan for the worst and hope for the best," said David Nichols, Bedford County director of public safety.
In the New River Valley, the Red Cross plans to open two shelters if flooding is severe - one at St. Paul United Methodist Church in Christiansburg and a backup shelter at Blacksburg Presbyterian Church. Each shelter has enough cots and blankets for 50 people and enough food for two meals.
Montgomery County Sheriff Doug Marrs said deputies would monitor streams and rain gauges throughout the county, paying particular attention to the Ellett Valley and the South Fork of the Roanoke River.
In Pulaski County, general plans have been worked out, using motels and other facilities, but specific shelter locations were not announced Thursday.
"It depends on what we need," said Pulaski County Emergency Services Coordinator Stan Crigger. "At this time, we're kind of in a wait-and-see mode."
Radford placed all city crews and police officers on alert to respond to emergency situations if needed, said Fire Marshal Cabby Whitt.
At Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, workers were filling and stacking 1,000 sandbags to have at the ready. Grounds, roofing and custodial crews were put on standby and are ready to respond, said Dave Nutter, associate director of university relations.
Low-lying areas at Tech, such as the Donaldson Brown Center and War Memorial gym, have been hard hit in past floods. University officials hope to divert water from those areas.
"We're in good shape," Nutter said. "Everybody's kind of watching and waiting. There's no need to think we'd have to evacuate, or anything like that."
At Virginia Department of Transportation shops in Western Virginia, workers made sure state trucks were equipped with axes and chain saws to deal with fallen trees and other flood debris.
American Electric Power Co. in Roanoke discharged water from Smith Mountain Lake and Leesville Lake below it to make room for flood runoff.
Norfolk Southern was pulling cars from sidings at business places and low-lying areas and moving them into a yard between Fifth Street and 12th Street Southwest. The company also moved its locomotives near Shaffers Crossing. An official said some might be taken to higher ground near Starkey Road.
The railroad also talked with city officials about the possibility of building a dike at the Elm Street Bridge downtown, said NS spokesman Rob Chapman. That is where much of the water that flooded downtown Roanoke in 1985 came from.
At the city's sewage treatment plant along the Roanoke River, crews spent Thursday securing every pump, vehicle and piece of equipment on the sprawling grounds. Everything that couldn't be moved to high ground was chained in place.
Plant manager Steve Walker and members of his staff planned to spend the night, but were ready to evacuate if the nearby Roanoke River hit 10 feet. The expected flood might be the first test of a new floodwall that was built around the plant after the 1985 flood.
Workers also built a dirt dike beneath the 13th Street bridge, where floodwaters in the past have rushed up the bank, across a road and field and into the plant.
Hurricanes kill more people in Virginia than they do in North Carolina, and the reason is flash flooding, said State Climatologist Pat Michaels at the University of Virginia.
The big fear is that a situation will develop like like that of Hurricane Camille in 1969, when enormous amounts of water poured out of the clouds as the storm passed over the eastern side of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Michaels said. When a storm hits mountains, the air rises and cools, which intensifies rainfall.
In Camille, so much rain fell that vegetation and soil were peeled away, leaving bare rock in some places, Michaels recalled.
Trees and mud can form dams on the mountains, holding water back from numerous little streamlets. When the dams break, the water below can rise several feet in a matter of seconds.
"This is the kind of scenario we always worry about in the mountains when a juicy hurricane comes through," Michaels said. "If a person lives in a flood-prone area and it's been raining like crazy, but a nearby stream hasn't risen much, it could be a very bad sign."
Staff Writers Mary Bishop, Paul Dellinger, Greg Edwards, Kathy Loan, Betty Hayden Snider and Joel Turner contributed to this story.
LENGTH: Long : 149 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ERIC BRADY/Staff. Dennis Wolf (left) and D.J. Wolf packby CNBsandbags to protect Campbell Mart on Campbell Avenue in downtown
Roanoke. color.