The unexpected deluge of rain from the remnants of Hurricane Helene that fell on the area on Friday forced the South River out of its banks in Waynesboro for the first time since 2018.
Good news: by and large, the city was able to escape the widespread damage that had been seen from previous flood events.
“Water-wise, I know the people that got water wouldn’t agree with this, but water-wise, we did fairly well. We did have some damage, but not catastrophic,” said Gary Critzer, the city’s director of emergency management, in an interview with AFP on Saturday.
The South River ended up cresting in Waynesboro at 12.4 feet, which is nearly three feet above flood stage.
The worst flood on record in Waynesboro dates back to 1985, when the river got to 15.3 feet, and caused more than $3 million in damages in 1985 dollars, about $8.8 million in current-day dollars, with more than 160 homes, 11 industrial sites and 52 businesses impacted.
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The inventory by Critzer for what we saw yesterday includes water in some basements on Club Court and to a business on East Main Street, and a bridge on South Oak Lane was that overswept by floodwaters.
Aside from that, and the closure of several streets during the storm because of water, the bigger issue was actually damage from the tropical winds that blew in with Helene, with gusts up to 28 mph in the early-evening hours, and sustained winds in the 13+ mph range for a six-hour period at the height of the storm.
Some of the issues with road closures had to do with falling trees, and a falling tree caused substantial damage to a home on Elkins Circle, whose residents had to be evacuated, and there was also one report of an injury to a city resident from a falling tree.
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The biggest thing Critzer is having to deal with today is power.
“We’ve got a lot of trees down, we’ve got a lot of lines compromised, and we’re being told that there’s a there’s an issue back off the east side of town that’s taken out a major hub, and they’re working to get it restored,” Critzer said.
At this writing, at 2 p.m. Saturday, Dominion Energy is reporting that 3,091 of the city’s 11,883 electricity customers are without power.
In neighboring Augusta County, which experienced flooding primarily in the Sherando area, which is located south of Waynesboro, a total of 1,454 Dominion Energy and Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative customers were out of power as of 2 p.m. Saturday.
Critzer said it is expected that power will be restored to those customers between 9 p.m. Saturday and 2 a.m. Sunday morning.
More photos
- AFP has more photos of the flood and wind damage on Facebook.
One other issue that the city is dealing with has to do with the water pump station on Shenandoah Village Drive, which was damaged by floodwaters Friday evening.
The city is asking residents in the western half of the city – including the Pelham, Hopeman Parkway, Club Court and Country Club areas – to conserve water until the tank can be restored.
“You don’t have to boil water. Nothing’s been contaminated. It’s just that the pump itself is not running, because it was compromised. We’ve got technicians on the way trying to get it back up and working,” Critzer said.
The one bit of bad news that we need to leave you with is, there’s more rain in the forecast.
AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Thomas Kines told AFP in an email Saturday that rain from what is left of Helene will return later Sunday and continue Sunday night into Monday, with a potential for another 1-3 inches of rain in the forecast.
The National Water Prediction Service is currently forecasting the South River to get back to the 7.5-foot mark during the day on Monday, and that’s with rain on the low end of what AccuWeather is saying is possible.
“Looking at what currently is forecast, I think that’s manageable,” Critzer said.
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Chris Graham
