CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Despite heavy rainfall Friday night officials say there was no additional slippage of a hillside in Charleston which had already caused extensive damage to a community in the hollow below Yeager Airport.
“As of about 3 a.m. there hadn’t been anything additional,” said Kanawha County Deputy Director of Emergency Services C.W. Sigman.
However, crews continued to monitor the massive hillside and the jagged earth rising high above several homes below. The slip dropped on Thursday sending thousands of cubit yards of dirt and debris into the hollow. The slide consumed a home and a church and created a dam across Elk Two Mile Creek. The backup of the creek caused several more homes to flood.
Officials continue to monitor the situation but fear additional rain through Saturday only serves to worsen the situation and further loosen the soil in the man made mountain.
Most residents living in the danger zone packed up their possessions and abandoned their homes Thursday or Friday.