|
West Virginia Division of Highways (WVDOH) road crews worked overnight and continue to work 24 hours a day to assess and clean up damage caused by a massive storm that moved through the state on Thursday, April 11, 2024. Most of the state had been under a tornado watch until 9 p.m. Thursday night. Tornados did not materialize, but high winds and a largely stationary storm front dumped record amounts of rainfall on the Kanawha Valley and other parts of West Virginia, leading to mud and rockslides, downed trees and flash flooding. Some parts of the state received five inches of rainfall in the space of several hours.
WVDOH Chief Engineer of Operations Joe Pack, P.E., said the worst of the flooding was concentrated north of Interstate 64. As of 2 p.m. Friday, April 12, 2024, multiple roads remained closed by high water in Kanawha, Cabell, Jackson, Clay, Mason, Lincoln, Pleasants, Wood, Doddridge, Harrison, Marion, Monongalia, Morgan, Brooke, Marshall, Ohio, Tyler, and Wetzel counties. Such large amounts of rainfall are bound to cause flooding. But, Pack said, “In West Virginia, it’s not the volume of the water but the velocity that causes damage to roads.”
Pack said that, once the water recedes, WVDOH road crews can assess any damage to the roadway and plan any repairs.
|
