THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, September 7, 1996 TAG: 9609070196
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS
LENGTH: 128 lines
Hampton Roads' good fortune was central Virginia's misery as Fran plowed through the state's mountains and foothills, delivering up to 14 inches of rain and wind that knocked out power to more than 400,000 homes and businesses.
Rising creeks and rivers stranded families in some mountain hollows, and dozens of dramas were played out Friday as rescuers in boats, helicopters and military vehicles struggled to reach them.
``There are some people, I think, in danger,'' said Leon Rickard, the emergency services coordinator in Page County. ``They just waited too long. When they saw the streams rising, they should have gotten out.''
Fran was long gone by nightfall, but the trouble was not.
The Dan River was expected to crest today 11 feet above flood stage, one foot higher than the 1972 record that inundated riverside homes and businesses after Hurricane Agnes.
Roanoke city officials were bracing for the Roanoke River to crest this morning at 18 feet - a ``very serious'' level that could force major road closings and cause considerable damage to structures near the river, officials said.
``This new forecast is serious for those homes and businesses along the Roanoke River,'' said Michelle Bono, a city spokeswoman. ``At 18 feet, we know to expect flooding in numerous areas.''
In Alexandria's historic Old Town, workers scurried to sandbag the doorways of 18th-century buildings and protect them from the rising Potomac. ``We're going as fast as we can, but frankly we got a late start and the storm is already here,'' said Il Phong, who packed 20-pound sandbags against the wall of a restaurant.
The rains could push the James River 10 to 15 feet above flood stage, forecasters said.
Fran swept through faster and farther east than predicted, limiting somewhat the effect the mountains would have had in squeezing more rain out of the storm.
Still, power was knocked out to 408,000 Virginia homes and businesses after trees snapped by the storm fell over utility lines. Virginia Power reported more than 360,000 outages, the worst in the company's history. American Electric Power Co. reported that more than 48,000 of its customers in central and southwestern Virginia were without service.
The lights were back on for about half of them by the end of the day.
There were two deaths. In Highland County, a woman died when she tried to cross a flooded creek in an all-terrain vehicle and was swept away by the current, said state Office of Emergency Services spokesman Mike LaCivita.
A man was killed in Fairfax when his car struck a tree that fell onto the highway, officials said.
The downpours, which hit about midnight and continued through mid-morning, sent water rushing down mountainsides into creeks, streams and rivers still full from flooding Tuesday and Wednesday, when 5 inches of rain fell.
Water lapped over reservoirs and threatened to breach earthen dams in Campbell, Madison and Albemarle counties. Elkton became an island as floods covered all roads into the town.
Gov. George F. Allen asked President Clinton to declare Virginia a disaster area, which would make storm victims eligible for federal loans.
National Guard helicopters were used to evacuate families from remote areas of Rockingham and Page counties hit by flash flooding, while boats were used to rescue 15 to 20 families from homes along two Dan River tributaries.
The Red Cross opened 35 shelters in a dozen Virginia localities. About 160 people were using the shelters Friday afternoon.
Rescuers in a boat saved Jack Craft from his flooded home after they spotted a candle he was waving at them from an upstairs window just before dawn Friday. Water from Sandy Creek, a tributary of the Dan, was several feet deep in the first floor of Craft's house.
``We saw the candle moving so we knew he was alive,'' Ringold community fire chief Mike Neal said. ``The water could easily have wiped away the foundation and sent the house down the creek. The current was racing. It was sort of like water going down a drain - it had a whirl to it.''
County officials asked for National Guard vehicles to reach some families.
Doris Crawford was stranded in her Madison County home when floodwaters triggered by 6 inches of rain in 5 1/2 hours washed out secondary roads leading to the house. The house wasn't in danger of being flooded but Crawford kept an eye out for mud slides on a nearby mountain.
``I'm not worried as long as my mountain stays up,'' she said. ``The rain keeps hitting so hard that it's coming through the roof and that's a brand new roof.''
David Jones, Madison County's emergency services director, said many mountain people were trapped in their homes. ``People are saying they're fine, but they can't get out,'' he said.
Albemarle County officials evacuated 30 to 40 homes in the Sugar Hollow area after water began lapping over a dam on Moormans River, 20 miles northwest of Charlottesville, county police Capt. R. Douglas Rhoads said. The floodgates to the dam were open, but they could not keep pace with the runoff rushing into the river from the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Officials also expected to open a spillway at White Oak Lake in Madison County, thus flooding U.S. 29, the major highway in the area. The spillway was damaged by flooding in June 1995 and has not been repaired.
Downed trees turned highways into obstacle courses that cleanup crews fought a losing battle to clear.
Tornadoes on the outer edges of the storm were spotted in Henrico, Amelia and Dinwiddie counties and near Wakefield. No injuries or damage were reported.
Firefighters using pumper trucks and pickups snatched about two dozen people from the hollows and ridges around the South Fork of the Shenandoah River and neighboring Naked Creek.
``We got people hanging in trees in Naked Creek, but we can't get to them,'' said Elwood Shifflett, who ferried other rescued families to Elkton Middle School in a school bus.
In Montgomery County, rescuers themselves became stranded. Four sheriff's deputies and four state troopers who drove to Alleghany Spring to rescue several families found that water rushing down Poor Mountain had blocked their only retreat.
``It's like a river in the road,'' Sheriff Doug Marrs said. ``It's four to five feet deep.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color AP photo
Matthew Hunt, 13, left, and Justin Ramsey, 14, go with the flow
Friday on West Riverside Drive, next to the Roanoke River in Salem.
Gov. George F. Allen asked President Clinton to declare Virginia a
disaster area.
Color photo by ASSOCIATED PRESS
Beth Deitz's umbrella didn't serve her well against Fran's gusts.
The 10-year-old, along with her mother, Julie, far left, and Linda
Barbour, were among those who faced the rain Friday in suburban
Richmond fairgrounds for the weekend's NASCAR Winston Cup races.
Color photo by ASSOCIATED PRESS
Tom Merwick attends to the damage in his Chesterfield County home on
Friday. Merwick was asleep when a tree crashed into his roof,
causing the ceiling to come down. The headboard kept the ceiling
from hitting him.
KEYWORDS: HURRICANE FRAN FLOODS FLOODING VIRGINIA STORM
DAMAGE by CNB