FLATWOODS, W.Va. — Volunteers and staff at Braxton County’s Flatwoods Elementary School spent Monday running the shop vac and manning the mops as cleanup got underway from a weekend deluge.
“On the road side of the building it’s in all the classrooms from the gym up through the cafeteria,” said Principal Natalie Hissam.
The water resulted from a cloudburst on Sunday, one of many which struck across most of West Virginia. The heavy rain dumped several inches in a quick amount of time. Like most places, the drains couldn’t handle the runoff and the water had to go somewhere. This time, that somewhere was through the front of the building.
Despite having a few inches inside, Hissam noted the floors were tile and apparently held up well. There were some boxes of paper and a few supplies which sat on the floor and were ruined. Those which were kept on shelves above the floor were okay. Carpet in Hissam’s office will need to be replaced and she said there was significant damage to the playground.
Volunteers and staff had most of the water out and the mud cleaned up by noon Monday.
“Staff and volunteers coming together and cleaning up, we’ve got most of it cleaned up in a first round. We have to go back through and use bleach in the second round,” Hissam said.