Downed trees and power outages seem to be most of what’s left in Staunton and Waynesboro in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Debby, now a tropical depression.
The City of Waynesboro received anywhere from 4.75 to 6.5 inches of rain as the storm moved through the region on Thursday and early Friday morning. Outside the city, in Chinquapin in Augusta County, a resident reported more than 8 inches of rain.
The South River crested at 4:14 a.m. this morning below forecast levels at 6.09 feet and is receding, according to Gary Critzer, director of the Department of Emergency Management and EMS for the City of Waynesboro. The river had been predicted to crest at 9.1 feet by 2 p.m. today.
Critzer said the river could bump up slightly over the next 24 hours as runoff from streams and creeks in the watershed continues, but “it should not be to a level of concern.”
A total of 1,315 lost power in the city due to Debby, but the large majority have power restored.
No major flooding was reported.
In Staunton, rain gauges in the city reported between 4 and 5 inches of rain in the last 48 hours, according to Josh Knight, communications director. The primary rain from Debby beginning yesterday afternoon totaled just over 4 inches at three locations.
“The depth sensor at Pump Street did briefly rise over 3.5 feet, but it was short-lived and didn’t lead to any flooding that we were aware of,” Knight said. “The city’s preparations and planning for higher-end rain totals worked out well.”
Like Waynesboro, Staunton reports some downed trees, but primarily cleanup is for small and medium-sized branches.
Some downed wires have also been reported, but they have primarily not been power lines, he said.
There were some power outages early this morning, but everything has been restored in Staunton as of 10 a.m.
“All in all it seems like we did pretty well for what it could have been,” Knight said.
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Crystal Graham
