CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Fewer than two weeks after heavy rainfall swept through Kanawha County, most of the debris affected by floodwaters have been picked up.
The Kanawha County Commission received positive reports from emergency management director C.W. Sigman and deputy emergency manager Dave Armstrong during its meeting Thursday.
Workers began offering curbside pickup began Monday. Commission President Ben Salango noted that crews have been hard at work in the most-affected areas from the August 16 storms.
“We had lots of folks up there in Campbells Creek (Road), Cabin Creek (Road); several other areas where they were able to bring anything that was destroyed by the flood out, and we would pick it up,” Salango said. “We can’t go on their property, but we could do it roadside.”
In addition to Campbells Creek and Cabin Creek, crews have helped on Rutledge Road and in the Cross Lanes area of the county.
Sigman said the storms came quickly and impacted people all throughout the county.
“The storm came in on the west, and exited out the east, and left a swath of (damage),” Sigman said. “Some areas were untouched, then you go another mile or two down the road, then you got an area with a lot of damage, lot of debris, so it’s kind of spread.”
Sigman highlighted no reported injuries or fatalities in the flooding as a tremendous success by county workers. There were dozens of rescue calls made on the night of the storms.
There’s a streamlined process to apply for federal assistance, Armstrong explained. He said that the county has put forth $100,000 for debris pickup so far; they’re keeping documentation of it. The hope, he said, is to receive a federal disaster declaration to pay back the county for its efforts.
“The thing about reimbursement, if we would qualify for it, we’d have to show where the debris was picked up,” Armstrong said. “Try to take a picture of the debris in front of the mailbox, we have to document what truck that debris went into.”
For now, Armstrong said they’re acting as though they’re going to get the declaration and are documenting everything in the process.
FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) will have representatives “boots on the ground” in Kanawha County on Monday, Armstrong said. Sigman will show the representatives around to assess the damage firsthand. Armstrong noted that a declaration, if it comes, might take several weeks after the assessment is conducted.
Curbside pickup was initially scheduled for a full two weeks through September 4. Armstrong defended the county’s decision to wait several days before offering the pickup service, saying that many people in the county were not ready for the pickup just 24 hours after the flooding.
“We have to give folks an opportunity to get their debris out, they’re still in the shock-and-awe piece of this, like ‘oh my God, I can’t believe this happened to me,'” Armstrong said. “‘Am I going to clean up? Am I going to rebuild?’ They’re not ready for us the day after. We’re doing the right thing. We’re taking care of our citizens.”
Armstrong said that other counties impacted by the floodwaters were not able to move as efficiently as Kanawha.
“They haven’t even started doing cleanup yet,” Armstrong said. “The state even indicated to C.W. and I that we’re ahead of the curve.”
Because of the efficient pickups, Armstrong said, they’re putting a temporary pause on full routes for debris collection. However, he said he planned to drive through the affected areas on Friday to see if any new debris needs picked up. He encouraged those who need flood debris pickup still to call the office, and crews will offer a helping hand.
“As it sits right now, other than the folks who have asked us, ‘Dave, please give us a few extra days,’ our crews have picked up everything that we know about,” Armstrong said. “We’ve been very efficient. It’s not bragging, it just is been the guys going door-to-door getting it. They’ve done a phenomenal job.”
Learn more about Kanawha County’s Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management here.