ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, January 26, 1996 TAG: 9601260072
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: RICHMOND
SOURCE: Associated Press
Estimated losses from last weekend's flooding have topped $59 million, with nearly half of the damage done in Shenandoah County.
The county was first buried in 3 feet of snow, then hit with heavy rains.
``There was water where there's never been water before,'' said Ernest Mongold Jr., the county's emergency services coordinator. ``I've been here in the county since '69, and this is the worst I've seen.''
Mongold estimated losses at $27 million, but said they could exceed $31 million.
Most of the damage occurred throughout the Shenandoah Valley and Alleghany Highlands, according to the Virginia Department of Emergency Services. Following Shenandoah County in damage amounts were Bath County with almost $6 million; Alleghany County, $3.5 million; and the city of Waynesboro, $3.2 million.
Overall, flooding destroyed 25 homes and severely damaged 550 more. Another 1,428 homes reported minor damage.
Five businesses were destroyed, 34 suffered major damage and 85 had minor damage, said Emergency Services Department spokeswoman Janet Clements.
In Rockingham County, $1 million of the estimated $2.2 million in damages was attributed to the loss of inventory at Hartz Corp., an apparel manufacturer, county officials said.
Clements said 26 counties and cities contributed to the statewide totals. A few areas, including the city of Alexandria, have not yet reported their losses.
Western Virginia's last major floods, in June, cost an estimated $130 million and damaged more than 2,000 homes, she said.
Teams from the Federal Emergency Management Agency were to begin work in the field today to check the localities' figures, Clements said. That's the first step toward Virginia becoming eligible for federal disaster aid.
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