CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Nearly 113 Kanawha County homes were damaged after the Dec. 25 flood, according to county emergency management crews.
Chuck Grishaber, the county’s floodplain manager, said 17 homes reported major damage, 17 had moderate damage, 38 had minor damage and 41 were affected.
The damage was about $250-$350,000 for those who didn’t have insurance.
Some homeowners reported as much as three feet of water in their homes. The flooding was widespread, but Grishaber said residents living along Kanawha Two-Mile Creek in the Sissonville area appeared to be hardest hit.
There were more than 30 water rescues on Christmas Day, according to the county’s planning office.
County officials initially tried to seek federal funds for clean up efforts, but were denied the request for a disaster declaration. Grishaber said they’re not giving up on other avenues to help residents.
“We’re requesting with the state to see if there would be any assistance. I don’t believe we’re going to qualify. We’re not going to meet the $2 million threshold,” he said. “At this point, there just wasn’t enough damage, which is good and bad for some people.”
Officials will be working with the governor’s office, the state Division of Highways and the state Department of Environmental Protection to remedy the problems from occurring again in the future, but Grishaber said overall, the clean up should be a community effort.
“There’s just a mountain of debris up there. We’re going to try and work to get that clean up, but people need to start taking responsibility and cleaning their streams,” he said.
The county said more than 24 tons of debris was left behind.