CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Ten Kanawha County schools will remain closed the first three days of the new school year beginning Wednesday following widespread flash flooding.
Kanawha County School Superintendent Paula Potter said the decision was made to close the schools in the Riverside High School attendance area in eastern Kanawha County.
Potter said she believes delaying the start of the school year for those families will help them as they try to navigate through flood damage.
“My first thought was to have school because our schools have power but many of the families are still cleaning,” Potter said. “They are going through such tragic events, pretty much the entire area, we thought it was a good idea to delay their start.”
The schools impacted are Belle, Cedar Grove, Chesapeake, Malden, Mary Ingles, Midland Trail, Sharon Dawes and Pratt elementary schools along with Dupont Middle School and Riverside High School.
Potter said the damage from Sunday’s rain events is widespread in that district from Campbells Creek to Montgomery. She said the days missed will not have to be made up.
The school buildings will be open as a resource spot. Potter said families can also pick-up three-day food boxes for their students on Wednesday. She said the school district wants to help where it can.
“If they’re in need of other items they can call the school. Our social workers have been out working. We’ve had a number of people call and give donations. We are available to help in any way if people reach out,” Potter said.
Potter said she knows there was flood damage in other parts of the county like Charleston and Cross Lanes but those schools will open with the rest of the county system on Wednesday. She said they’ll be understanding with other flood victims.
“If a family cannot get their child to school because they’re still cleaning and it’s too much to do right now they can call their school and let them know they are cleaning from the flood and we can code their absence and it won’t be held against the student,” Potter said.
Potter said some people wanted a delay for the entire county but she decided against it.
“I had probably just as many calls from parents asking for school to start because of the arrangements they have made,” Potter said.
State of Emergency
The Kanawha County Commission placed the county under a state of emergency Tuesday in connection with the flooding.
Commission President Ben Salango said the designation will allow for the continued flow of resources needed in flood recovery efforts.
Salango said the county hopes to have a debris pick-up schedule finalized by Wednesday. He said it would be for residents along Cabin Creek and in the Cross Lanes area.
Salango said Sunday’s rain, 4.23 inches, was the highest one day rain total recorded at Yeager Airport in Charleston since July 19, 1961. The total that day was 5.6 inches.
There were 2100 emergency calls to Kanawha County Metro 911 on Sunday in the two different rain events. Salango said first responders were dispatched on 850 calls including 60 water rescues.
Salango said he is concerned about the continued flooding some parts of the county are receiving.
“A lot of people don’t feel safe,” Salango said. “I had a lady email me last night at around midnight and she said this is the fifth time she’s had water around her house and she’s only lived on Campbells Creek since 2022.”
Salango said the county is looking at some programs the state and federal government offer that may be able to help residents.
Salango said it’s important for residents to fill-out damage survey reports. They can be found at the county commission website.