CHARLESTON, W.Va. — It could be a long day for DOH workers in the eastern mountains of West Virgnia.
Some areas had as much as five to six inches of rain since mid-week forcing creeks and streams out of their banks and into the roadways.
State DOH spokesperson Carrie Bly said she started getting updates from the areas first thing Friday morning.
“The e-mails kept being titled “More Road Closures” and ‘More Road Closures.’ So we’re seeing a lot of closures due to high water in Berkeley, Hampshire, Hardy, Mineral and Morgan counties,” she explained.
There’s also been high water in Randolph and Tucker counties.
At this point the amount of damage is still unknown.
“We can’t see the damage right now because the water is up. Right now we’re dealing with the high water and debris. Later on when that water goes down, we’ll be able to assess what damage it has done to the roadways,” said Bly.
The storm system that rolled through Thursday was predicted to hit the Kanawha Valley hard. Instead it tracked further east. The mountain counties and the Eastern Panhandle got the worst of it. Bly stressed at this point, they’re still dealing with an unknown.
“We don’t anticipate it being a lot of heavy damage like roads washed away and things like that. But we really never know until the water goes down.”
In the meantime, Bly said they want to make sure the motoring public doesn’t go anywhere they shouldn’t. That’s why DOH workers have been busy putting up ‘High Water’ signs.
“People should never drive through high water. So we hope our signs and our presence are going to keep people safe,” said Bly.
Drier, cooler conditions are in the forecast for the weekend.