MORGANTOWN — Monongalia County dodged a bullet in the form of serious flooding that could have happened when the remnants of Hurricane Ida passed through the area Wednesday.
That’s according to Monongalia County Homeland Security and Emergency Management/MECCA 911 Director Jimmy Smith, who said the rain gauge at the county 911 center showed 1.78 inches of rain between midnight and 1:15 p.m. Wednesday. Since Tuesday afternoon, there had been 2.7 inches of rain at the center.
Smith said the rain coming over a 24-hour period instead of dumping 4-5 inches in an hour or so made a big difference. There had been just one report of water in a basement, on Mountainview Road, as of Wednesday afternoon.
“We’ve been pretty darn lucky this storm,” Smith said. “Our biggest impact has been trees.”
A total of seven fallen trees were reported to 911, with many of them falling into the road. Smith said trees fell into the road at 8th Street, Blue Horizon Drive, River Road, Chaplin Road and Cheat Road.
As of Wednesday afternoon, Morgantown Utility Board’s system performed well, said Chris Dale, MUB’s director of communications.
MUB took a number of steps in anticipation of dealing with the predicted heavy rains to help protect the public from the storm.
This included normal storm pre-check procedures such as “ensuring that areas under bridges are clear and that manholes, storm drops and culverts are functioning properly,” Dale said. “We’ve also pre-positioned a backhoe so that if debris does collect under a bridge or in a particular area, we can more quickly remove it.”
In addition to typical inspections and cleaning, a release said a new riprap was installed along Burroughs Run, and debris has been removed to ensure that it can manage flows at full capacity. Also, MUB crews filled sandbags and positioned them in areas prone to flooding.
According to Dale, MUB is placing additional crews on-call until today.
“We’re staffing up for the event. We have extra staff on-call to help answer phones, to respond to emergencies, and to conduct continuous patrols across our stormwater area, with focus on those areas that have flooded in the past,” he said. “We’ve also communicated with local emergency management and will continue doing so.”
While MUB did all it can to prepare for the rain, Dale stressed that customers should also take precautions when it comes to weather events like this.
“It’s important that people inspect their gutters and downspouts. That may sound simple but too often we respond to a home that’s experienced basement flooding only to find that the cause is due to clogged drains, gutters and downspouts,” he said. “Preparedness is everyone’s responsibility.”
Dale added that during such weather, residents should pay attention to their surroundings.
“Know where you live and the vulnerabilities of the area,” he said. “Exercise situational awareness in terms of are you in a floodplain and the distance of your home from areas prone to flooding. Have emergency contact numbers handy, review safety materials provided by agencies such the American Red Cross, and monitor local emergency channels and social media platforms.”
Morgantown was under a flash-flood watch until 2 a.m. today.
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