ALDERSON, W.Va. — A deluge of rain back on Friday caused problems for about 35 homes in the town of Alderson. About 25 homes in the Monroe County side of town and another 10 on the Greenbrier County side were impacted by the sudden storm.
“They got two and a half inches in 30 minutes. That water came down through that one part of the back side of Alderson,” said Monroe County Emergency Services Director Jeff Jones.
Such problems aren’t new to that part of town. Jones said in the six years he’s been in his position, it’s the fourth time this kind of flooding has occurred.
Firefighters had to rescue a woman from her home in the Dark Hollow community as the water rose up around it. Nobody was injured and according to Jones, most of the damage was minor.
“Most of it was in basements and crawl spaces. Not to many houses had it into the living space, but there were a few,” he said.
One of the nearby roads was closed for several hours Friday night by a mudslide. The slide was cleared by Saturday by the West Virginia Division of Highways. Victims had already been stacking waterlogged debris at the road’s edge to be hauled away. The West Virginia National Guard is due in the town to haul away debris on Wednesday.
“We’ve had problems there before. It doesn’t drain very well and we’ve been trying to get it fixed. It’s just a pain,” said Jones.