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NEWS
Rains leave closed streets, damaged homes in wake
Huntington firefighters redirect traffic on 5th Avenue during Friday's flooding in Huntington.
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HUNTINGTON — The massive Friday morning rains that flooded many streets and stranded motorists caused significant damage in homes across the region.
Concerns over the level of damage in Lawrence County, Ohio, were enough to prompt officials to seek emergency financial assistance for homeowners.
Larry Stanley, of 2214 S. 10th St., Ironton, had two inches of water in his basement Friday morning. Last month, he had 15 inches of raw sewage in his basement following a heavy rain.
Flooding has cost Stanley an estimated $5,000 in damages thus far. He had to pay $2,000 to clean his basement and he has sustained $3,000 in damage to a couch, two chairs, a freezer and a dehumidifier.
“We’ve lived here five years,” Stanley said. “Something has changed. We didn’t used to have this problem. Now surface water is getting into the basement. It started about a week ago.”
An estimated 2.21 inches of rain fell in Huntington on Friday morning, according to the National Weather Service.
Emergency crews stayed busy, responding to the aftermath of the downpour that began about 8 a.m. in the Huntington area.
Friday’s heavy rain first caused vehicles to get stuck in local underpasses and on streets.
Eventually, motorists were stranded in several areas, and bridges were washing out.
“We got several calls of people trying to find the best way to get to where they needed to be,” said Mike Davis, director of the Cabell County 911 center. “We had a few people who did get stranded, but nothing major. It sounds like people took pretty good caution.”
When it rains like it did Friday, Linda Wolfe starts to worry about her neighbors. Though Wolfe’s house is on a hill and all she had to do Friday morning was move her vehicles, she’s seen extreme damage to the homes of neighbors who live along Harvey Road. Their cars have been totaled, their carpets trashed. And there have been some close calls in getting them out of their homes when the flood waters rise.
Friday, nobody was stranded or hurt, she said. But Wolfe was worried when she saw a lawnmower floating in the water.
“It’s always a concern for those two houses, but it has receded and everything is fine,” she said Friday afternoon.
Huntington’s Enslow Park also experienced some of the worst flooding in recent years, as Fourpole Creek escaped its banks and flowed into streets and homes. The neighborhood had a couple of rounds of flooding in 2004, but the city did some work to remove debris and fallen trees from the creek bed and another high water event in 2006 was less severe.
Among other areas where roads and streets were blocked by high water were Spring Valley, where Spring Valley Drive was closed temporarily; 1st Avenue, 5th Avenue, 21st street near 5th Avenue, Buffalo Creek Road in Chesapeake, Ohio, and Waverly Road near Camden Park.
Games for the Little League Softball Southeastern Regional Tournament were rescheduled with some games at Mitch Stadium in Ceredo-Kenova and others moved to Marshall University’s Dot Hicks Field. An outdoor movie showing in Ashland also had to be rescheduled because the ground was wet.
In Lawrence County, Ohio, county officials sought an emergency declaration Friday seeking assistance from the state.
The heavy rains there caused urban street flooding and rural flash-flooding, said Mike Boster, director of the Lawrence County Emergency Management Agency. Lawrence County residents should report flooding damages by calling 740-533-4376 or 533-4375.
“It is important for residents who received damage to contact our office so we can look at and document that damage. Without a thorough damage assessment, it is impossible to determine if there is enough damage countywide for any kind of assistance,” Boster said.
The flooding could lead to the issuance of low-interest Small Business Administration loans, he said.
In Ironton, Mayor Rich Blankenship said about 120 homes had water in their basements after heavy rains this week.
“We’ve had four-and-a-half inches of rain in the last 50 hours,” Blankenship said Friday during a Lawrence County Board of Commissioners meeting.
In some cases, sewage backed up in basements and storm water flowed into homes, he said.
“It’s all over the city,” he said.
He said the city sewer plant was operating full time and city crews were clearing up any blockages in stormwater systems.
“We’ve been working day and night this week, but we’ve found no major obstructions or collapses,” he said. “We definitely need some help.”
Area residents should get a brief break from rain, as Saturday is expected to be mostly sunny in Huntington before a 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms returns Sunday morning, according to the National Weather Service. New rainfall amounts this weekend may be less than a tenth of an inch, though higher amounts are possible in thunderstorms. Monday also will be mostly sunny, and Tuesday has a 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, the weather service predicts.
