Flash Flood — Buchanan, Virginia

2000-07-13 · near Hurley, Buchanan, Virginia

Event narrative

Rains of around 2 inches fell in less than 3 hours during the late morning and midday period, over saturated ground. An automatic gauge near Home Creek had recorded 6 inches of rain from the 10th to the 13th. Small streams flooded. A 28 year old female drowned in the Left Fork of Lester Fork. According to the investigator at the sheriff's office, she had walked across a foot bridge to turn horses loose from a barn. When she attempted to come back across the bridge, it was under water. She was tossed a rope, but lost her footing and fell in. Her body was found late that afternoon against a retaining wall at Hurley Park. Basement and garages were flooded along Looney Creek and Route 656. Shoulders of secondary roads received washout damage. Buchanan County Board of Supervisors declared a local emergency in the aftermath of this high water.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5155527. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.