After the storm

By Mary Catherine Brooks
Wyoming County Bureau Chief

May 11, 2009 11:21 pm

— Rock and mud slides lined Rt. 97, while tons of debris marked the raging path taken by the Guyandotte River during Saturday’s flooding.
Monday morning, people in Hanover were busy shoveling and spraying water hoses, trying to remove the thick, gooey mud and muck that seemed to cover everything.
Fires burned in several places, consuming the water-soaked ruins of businesses and homes.
In some areas, it appeared the road had been suspended in air, the missing shoulders carried off by the violent waters.
Concrete bridge foundations lay twisted in heaps in the peaceful waters Monday morning. Pieces of bridges lay everywhere.
Road and speed limit signs lay flattened along the roadway, silent testaments to the powerful force of the floodwaters.
Home improvement items — windows, doors, siding trims — littered miles of Rt. 52, carried from the local lumber store.
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Though numerous communities along the Guyandotte River suffered floodwaters — including Mullens, Pineville, Brenton and Baileysville — Hanover was the hardest hit in Wyoming County.
About 200 homes and businesses in Wyoming County sustained damage, the majority of those in Hanover.
Nearly two feet of water came inside Godfrey’s Corner, which sits at the intersection of Rts. 97 and 52 in Hanover.
Floodwater has not been inside the building in the last 35 years, Sheila St. Clair explained.
“It’s been close; it’s got scary, but it’s never come inside until this,” she said.
All five of the family’s nearby businesses were damaged.
Keith Godfrey, St. Clair’s brother, and his 13-year-old son were trapped over top of his car wash for nearly five hours Saturday as the water surrounded them.
His dog treaded water for the entire time period; Godfrey was unable to get to the mutt, he said.
“It’s a miracle that dog survived,” St. Clair said.
A few residents were reportedly still stranded Monday as emergency crews tried to get to them.
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Classes were canceled Monday at both Pineville Elementary School and Huff Consolidated Elementary and Middle School.
“Thank goodness all the damage was below the wall trim,” emphasized Frank Blackwell, county schools superintendent.
The highest water was just under two inches, he explained. Some classrooms had no water at all. The lowest classrooms sustained some water damage, and articles left on the floor will be tossed, he said.
“We don’t have any idea of the cost yet,” he noted. “We’re keeping a running inventory.”
Blackwell tentatively believes classes will be canceled at both schools for the rest of the week as crews clean and sanitize flooded parts of the schools.
Students are scheduled to take the WESTEST standardized tests next week, but that will be unlikely at the two flooded schools.
“At Huff, some of the students won’t be able to get to classes,” he said. “There are too many bridges and roads washed out there.”
Blackwell said the county will ask the state for a waiver for the two schools in the midst of the emergency.
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County Sheriff Randall Aliff said a deputy has been stationed full time in the Hanover area to deter looting, help with any traffic problems or other law enforcement needs.
“We haven’t had a problem yet with looting,” Aliff said.
The Hanover Volunteer Fire Department has been designated as the emergency center.
After declaring a state of emergency over the weekend, Gov. Joe Manchin toured the flood-ravaged areas Monday and National Guard troops, the American Red Cross and the Salvation Army have moved in to assist flood victims.

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