It’s been almost two weeks since Helene damaged hundreds of homes across Southwest Virginia and took the lives of two people. In some of the hardest hit communities, including Damascus and surrounding areas, it could take more than a year to rebuild washed out roads and fully reopen the Virginia Creeper bicycle trail.
If you’ve never been to Whitetop Mountain and surrounding communities, picture a view you might have seen on a postcard of a curvy Appalachian road, and miles of trees that are already changing color for autumn.
These are Virginia’s highest points, near the North Carolina border, and some people say the remoteness is part of the beauty. Neighbors have been spending their days helping and feeding each other.
At a small convenience store in Konnarock, which straddles Smyth and Washington Counties, Matthew Dell is preparing 200 free hot meals for lunch. Some are being delivered to people who are still stranded in their homes.
“There’s a lot of people around here that don’t have cars, vehicles were crushed, or can’t get out themselves,” Dell said.
Since Helene hit, they’ve served meals multiple days, as have lots of other groups and volunteers. This week, electricity was restored for many residents, and water is being turned on too. Roads are being cleared. The immediacy of this disaster is slowly turning into long-term recovery, which will take months, years.
Dell points to where a creek took out a swing set and playground.
“So, this is where the playground used to sit. And all that’s gone,” Dell said, looking at the muddy land. “It washed down the creek.”
Nearby, the Konnarock Community Center is full of supplies, including vegetables, diapers, even generators to give away.
Volunteer Carolyn Tracy is busy sorting children’s toothbrushes.
“We have gas cans, and water coming out of our ears, so if people need water, they can come here and get water,” Tracy said.
They also have grain and hay to feed animals. Tracy says many Konnarock residents are elderly and are in need of helping hands.
“We’re coming together, and most people are starting to do clean up,” Tracy said. “So anybody that’s willing to help them with clean up, we would love to have. And if they come to the community center we can kind of point people in different directions.”
Traveling from Konnarock to Damascus now takes longer, because portions of the road there were washed away in the flood.
“We’ve lost 58 going to Damascus,” Tracy said. “It’s gone.”
U.S. Route 58 will need to be rebuilt. The Virginia Department of Transportation is working on plans for how that will work, because the road will need a new path.
“And the road when it’s rebuilt will not be what we knew before,” said Jason Berry, administrator for Washington County.
Damascus is accessible from Interstate 81, and most main roads are clear. But Route 58 and some side roads that were near creeks were forever changed by the flood.
“The reality is, the stream was moved,” Berry said. “So where the stream was is now in a new location. So in the case of the Creeper Trail and Route 58, the stream took over where they were.”
The Virginia Creeper Trail is a 33-mile bike path that runs from Abingdon to Whitetop Mountain. It runs through the national forest, and the town of Damascus.
Economically, this town will have a nearly impossible time bouncing back, without the Creeper Trail, said Berry. “The Creeper Trail, you know, is the lifeblood of Damascus.”
Most businesses in Damascus are tied in some way to the Creeper Trail. The trail has reopened from the starting point in Abingdon, but rebuilding the second half will mean replacing bridges in steep mountains. And because Laurel creek changed course during the flood, parts of this trail may have to be rerouted through the forest.
Berry said Washington County leadership is committed to rebuilding the Creeper Trail and finding housing for people to keep living in the area.
“We know there’s about 18-19 homes totally lost on the day of the devastation, between Damascus and then two up on Taylor’s Valley,” Berry said. “There’s many homes you can tell are visibly damaged, will have to be torn down, demolished, and rebuilt.”
He added these are not the final numbers of impacted structures. That list, which is being compiled by the Virginia Department of Emergency Management, will be released soon.
Berry said seven displaced families from Damascus and Taylor’s Valley were staying at a shelter in Bristol, and they have since moved to a hotel. He said local officials are working to help them find places to stay long term.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
