HARRISON COUNTY, W.Va. – For the third time this month, Harrison County is cleaning after major storm events. Data from the National Weather Service shows the Clarksburg area has received more than 6 1/2 inches of rain for August- four inches over the normal amount for the month with more than a week remaining.
Director of the Harrison County Office of Emergency Management Pegi Bailey said some areas received as much as three inches of rain overnight.
“Last night a lot of basement flooding, run off flooding, a lot of gravel driveways are now in the road,” Bailey said. “A lot of blocked culverts and flooding road surfaces.”
The large amount of rainfall in a short period on already saturated ground primarily did property damage and left some roads impassable.
“Davisson Run, Sun Valley, Wilsonburg, Wolf Summit and Reynoldsville,” Bailey said. “Many of the culverts are very old.”
The problems began earlier in the month when dual storms brought more than three inches of rain to some areas in the county.
“The original storms occurred on the 10th and 11th of August,” Bailey said. “They were pretty severe and hit at the same identical time.”
Bailey encourages people to complete damage assessment form with the West Virginia Emergency Management Division database. Residents can provide pictures and descriptions of storm damage that will be evaluated and totaled by area. Bailey said relief assistance will depend on the total damage officially documented, so it’s important to get as much participation as possible.
“It makes more resources on the state level available to you,” Bailey said. “The Department of Highways can maybe get bigger ditch job to clean some of these culverts and some of the roadside ditches.”