Washington County residents who want the latest information on the flooding damage from Hurricane Helene that devastated the town of Damascus and two nearby communities should plan to attend Tuesday’s meeting of the county’s board of supervisors.
County Administrator Jason Berry and Theresa Kingsley-Varble, coordinator of the Office of Emergency Management, are scheduled to discuss the status of clean-up and recovery efforts, according to the meeting’s agenda. Board member Saul Hernandez is also on the agenda for a conversation about disaster events in the future.
On Sept. 27, after days of rain had saturated the ground in advance, hours of heavy rain and high winds battered Southwest Virginia. The two creeks that surround Damascus rose over their banks, and sent several feet of water through town. Trees were uprooted, giant sinkholes formed and some houses and mobile homes were knocked off their foundations and sent downstream. More than 100 residents had to be rescued by swift-water teams.
Also hit hard by the giant storm were the nearby communities of Taylors Valley and Green Cove. A nearly one-mile section of U.S. 58 going toward Konnarock was also wiped out along with a bridge there, Berry said earlier.
Accurate damage numbers will lead to best funding results, says county
The county administrator said more than 600 homes and businesses were assessed by state and county officials last week and they were working on the number of buildings that were destroyed and damaged. Those numbers will be known in the coming weeks, he said. The information will be needed to apply for funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
The meeting starts at 6:30 p.m. at 1 Government Center Place in Abingdon.
