Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, January 16, 1995 TAG: 9501170100
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MATT CHITTUM STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
"We're a mess, man," said Radford emergency communications officer Michael Daley.
By 6 p.m. Sunday, flooding on the New River halted operations at the Radford water treatment plant. City Manager Robert Asbury issued a notice that storage tanks would be the only source of water for Radford residents for a while. Residents were asked to use water only when absolutely necessary until noon today.
About the same time, Radford's Bissett Park was "wasted" and the lower parking lot at Radford University's Dedmon Center was under water, according to Daley.
Daley said the river was rising about 6 inches every 30 minutes. Water crept to within six inches of the city animal shelter, raising concern that the animals might have to be moved. But by 8 p.m., the river was headed back to its banks.
Sandra Foutz stayed up all night in her Salem home, watching the river advance toward her back door. By early Sunday afternoon, ducks were paddling within a few yards of her front porch.
"I was feeding 'em," she said.
All in all, though, she counts herself lucky. The muddy Roanoke River never actually lapped up against her house on Riverside Drive, though she did get about three feet of water in her basement. She and her husband, Russell, were arranging to get their four children, three dogs, three birds and one cat to higher ground when the water began receding around 1 p.m.
A few hours later, the once-threatening waters were just fun for her kids. Several pairs of muddy shoes littered her front porch, and the twins, Rachel and Ruthie, were riding their bikes in the quagmires left behind.
Other Salemites didn't hold out as long as the Foutzes. Chief Dan Hall of the Salem Fire Department said Salem Village Trailer Park residents were warned that nearby Mason's Creek was on the rise, and about 15 of them chose to ride out the storm at a Red Cross shelter set up at the Salem Civic Center.
The Roanoke River also ventured out of its banks in several places in Wasena and Smith parks. When the rain let up for a while Sunday afternoon, dozens of people lined up to watch the sediment-laden river rumble over the Wiley Drive low-water bridge near the intersection at Winona Avenue. Parents watched kids chucking sticks into the rushing water.
Bob Snead came over from Raleigh Court with his wife and kids. He likened the white-water churning over the bridge to rapids he once rafted on the Chattooga River in Georgia. That's the river where the film "Deliverance" was made.
"People will just flock to something like this to see what Mother Nature can do," Snead said.
Flooding also was forecast along the James River, with crests coming during the night. The section along Buchanan was expected to top out at 19 feet - two feet above flood stage - around 1 this morning. Lowe Street in Buchanan already was closed Sunday evening.
by CNB