ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, October 5, 1996 TAG: 9610070064
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: GRUNDY
SOURCE: Associated Press
It was only a train. But to 10-year-old Derrick Hill, forced from his home by a threatened flood, the approaching noise sounded like the roar of rushing water.
``Mom, Mom! Is that the water coming, is that the water?'' Derrick asked nervously from the hotel room where he and mother, Diane Hill, took refuge after being evacuated Wednesday.
The Hills were among as many as 1,000 people in the Little Prater community, about 3 miles from this Buchanan County town, who were told to leave their homes when a coal mine hollow began filling with water.
The residents were allowed to return Thursday. The flood never came.
A wall of earth around the hollow held back approximately 20 million gallons until workers for the Jewell Smokeless Coal Co. could divert it. The water had built up during a day of heavy rain when a drainage line clogged.
Hill said she and her son fled as soon as they found out the water was rising.
``When I left, I left the TV running and the VCR was going,'' she said. ``I didn't know when the dam was going to bust, and I wasn't about to take a chance.''
Betty Stiltner also left home in a panic. Her husband, away on a fishing trip, didn't know anything was wrong until the crisis had passed.
``He asked me if I made sure to set the burglar alarm on our house, and I thought, burglar alarm my foot,'' she said. ``I just wanted to get out of that house.''
The ordeal left a lasting impression on Derrick, his mother said.
``Derrick was scared,'' she said. ``When we came back, he said he wanted to pack some clothes to keep handy just in case it happens again.''
LENGTH: Short : 41 linesby CNB