CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Kanawha County incurred at least $721,000 in damages in the Aug. 15 flash flood that moved through communities north of U.S. Route 60 in eastern Kanawha County.
Kanawha County Emergency Management Director C.W. Sigman said the county’s number is made up mostly of stream damage and flood debris removal.
Sigman said the county estimates it will have to spend at least $500,000 on stream restoration.
“There’s going to be cost to removing debris, trees and things of that nature out of the streams. There’s a lot of sediment fill and we have some banks that are collapsing that effect the streams,” Sigman said.
The flood damaged parts of Campbells Creek, Kellys Creek and Hughes Creek along with several smaller tributaries.
Kanawha County began flood debris removal two days after the flood and has so far removed 153.37 tons of waterlogged debris. The last day for flood debris pick-up is set for Monday, Sept. 12.
Sigman said the $721,000 is a number that will grow. He said it doesn’t count damages to individual properties or damages to highways and bridges maintained by the state Division of Highways.
“They’ve (DOH) had to clear stuff out. They’ve had to do a lot of work. They’ve had banks collapse into roads. They will have several hundreds of thousands of dollars of costs of their own,” Sigman predicted.
Meanwhile, more than 300 occupants and homeowners have reported property damage.
Sigman said he’s feeling more confident that the county will meet thresholds to receive federal disaster assistance.
“If we can reach public assistance requirements then we’ll have a better chance to get individual assistance for the homeowners,” Sigman said.
The flooded out communities have seemed to bounce back well, according to Sigman, but he added some are still struggling.
“And the county commission wants to make sure we don’t forget those folks,” Sigman said.
Fayette County continues to recover
The Fayette County Commission met in regular session Wednesday and discussed flood recovery efforts.
That same Aug. 15 flood caused significant damage in Smithers, Cannelton Hollow and in the Gauley Bridge area.
Fayette County communities have received debris removal assistance from the West Virginia National Guard in recent weeks.