The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia

Today's Front Page

June 15, 2010

Davy is ‘ground zero’ for weekend flooding

By Kate Coil For The Register-Herald

DAVY — The town of Davy in McDowell County is being called “ground zero” by locals for the flooding that took place over the weekend.

Mayor Ken Gentry has been working to help residents devastated by the flooding of Little Davy Creek, which runs through the community.

“I’m not the type of mayor who stays in the office,” Gentry said. “I’ve been running backhoes, digging ditches and helping pull out cars.”

Gentry said there were no injuries, though several families lost everything in the floods.

“I haven’t gotten an official count, but we’ve had at least 12 to 14 families that have been flooded out,” Gentry said.

Utilities are one major concern the community of Davy is facing.

“We’ve had some power outages,” Gentry said. “We’re looking for a water line leak. There’s nothing wrong with the water itself. We just have a busted water line. It’s been shut off in some parts by the Water Department and we have to go through them before we can turn it back on.”

Bridges connecting houses to the main roads were taken out during the floods, and many homes had between eight to 10 feet of water.

“Families had their bridges washed away and can’t get out of the house,” Gentry said. “The original storm came down Asco Hollow and picked up rubbish and debris as it came down. It piled up debris and brush on bridges until the water was blocked and flooded out into the valley.”

Gentry and several other residents spent the day cleaning up the intersection of Asco Hollow Road and Route 4, which was one of the worst hit areas of the community.

“We cleared this road up to Asco Hollow,” Gentry said. “There were three miles that were virtually impassable because of rock and dirt covering the road yesterday. Today, we’re cleaning up bridges and debris, so if we get water again, it won’t back up. The bridge was completely covered yesterday. It’s been badly damaged.”

Gentry said federal aid has not been granted to Davy yet, though citizens are working to apply for it.

“I haven’t heard about federal aid, but there should be help from FEMA and other federal agencies once we get the paperwork in,” Gentry said. “We’ve asked local residents to get pictures of their damage before they begin cleanup to send in.”

So far, aid has come to Davy in the form of the Salvation Army and prison workers from Steven’s Correctional Facility.

“The Salvation Army came in and set up a distribution center for hot meals,” Gentry said. “We sure appreciate all their services.”

The Salvation Army set up its station in front of First Church of God in Davy, starting at 11 a.m. with members of the Wal-Mart in Campbell serving hot meals to local residents.

“Weather permitting, we should be here until 7 p.m. tonight,” said Salvation Army member Chris Jenks. “We’re serving hot dogs, hamburgers, chips, dessert and water. We’ve had about 150 to 200 people stop by so far.”

According to Brad Garret, a Salvation Army board member and manager at the Wal-Mart in Campbell, it was estimated 260 families in McDowell County were still without power.

Mayor Gentry said Delegate Clif Moore spent a lot of time in the Davy area and helped with cleanup.

Gentry said the entire community of Davy was affected by the flooding.

“Virtually, there’s some kind of effect everywhere from the railroad to Asco Hollow Road,” Gentry said. “This town will probably never be as it once was.”

 — Kate Coil writes for The Bluefield Daily Telegraph.

E-mail: kcoil@bdtonline.com

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