Southwest Virginia was hit with major flooding over the weekend, and seven inches of rain fell in some areas. At least one person in Bland County was killed in the flood, and dozens of people are cleaning out their flooded homes.
In Richlands, Betty Carson, her three daughters and four grandchildren were all rescued Saturday night when their apartment complex flooded. They live near the Clinch River.
“We’ve had a lot of scares because we live so close to the river,” Carson said, standing outside an emergency shelter in Tazewell County. “But it never got to my front door. We’ve never, honestly, none of us thought that it would get that bad. We never thought it would get that bad.”
Her grandchild, Jessie, was quiet and thoughtful as Crawford described their harrowing rescue, and the uncertainty that they might not have anything left to go back to.
“It’s hard for a three-year-old to not be at home. You know, she’s said several times she wants to go home. She don’t understand. But the people here have been so good, you know. They keep her entertained. They’ve brought toys and Play-Doh, and, you know, we’ve been blessed.”
Her neighbor Maudy Jones and her husband Dwight have been at work since Sunday — pulling out mud-soaked furniture and clothes from their home.
“Oh lord, the water come up and it come up fast. Really fast,” Jones said.
Like many people across central Appalachia who are dealing with flood damage, the Jones’ are cleaning their home the best they can by themselves.
“I jerked the carpet up, pad and everything. And mopped all the floors and stuff in bleach,” said Dwight Jones.
A neighbor, Barry Ratliffe, stopped by with a load of firewood.
“I had some wood at the house, and so I figured I’d try to help them out the best way I could,” Ratliffe said as he unloaded firewood.
The Jones’ have a woodstove that is intact, but all their wood washed away. Getting heat into the house will help them dry out their soaked floors.
30 miles away in the town of Grundy, Chief of Police Seth McGlothlin’s voice is hoarse from rescuing people in the cold and rain. He said this is the worst flooding this area has seen in decades.
“The floodgates were closed Saturday before the water got that high,” McGlothlin said. “They [did] exactly what they were supposed to do and kept the water out of this area.”
The floodgates in downtown Grundy were part of a major project by the Army Corps of Engineers after another flood in 1977. Congress authorized that funding in 1980, and parts of the project are still ongoing.
McGlothlin said, without those floodgates, this storm could have wiped out what was left of their town’s homes and businesses.
During a press conference Tuesday, Governor Glenn Youngkin said nearly 150 roads still remain closed, and some people in Buchanan and Dickenson Counties still have no access in or out of their homes. Youngkin added the predicted snowstorm would likely delay the state's efforts to help those in Southwest Virginia recover from the flooding.
