Area prepares for Hurricane Helene, cancellation of river-related events

A flood watch remains in effect for central Virginia as the area dries out from torrential rains in the past day or so, but the official notice from the National Weather Service warns residents of the area to prepare for more. 

“The remnants of Hurricane Helene will impact the area early Friday morning through Friday evening,” reads the notice. “Heavy rainfall is likely along and just east of the Blue Ridge, and across parts of the Central Shenandoah Valley and surrounding high terrain. Rainfall amounts of 1 to 3 inches are expected, with locally higher amounts possible.”

On Wednesday, Governor Glenn Youngkin declared a state of emergency to free up resources for public safety officials across the Commonwealth. 

“Even though the largest impacts of Helene are predicted to the south and west of us, we cannot ignore the fact that we have had significant flooding events arise from pre-cursory rain events and outer bands from tropical systems that drop locally heavy rainfall leading to flooding, especially in our southwestern region,” said Governor Glenn Youngkin.

Executive Order 37 states that western portions of Virginia are likely to experience heavy rain, adding to already saturated land. The order activates the Virginia Emergency Operations Center and the Virginia Emergency Management Team. 

The Virginia Department of Transportation sent out an information release late Thursday afternoon warning people to exercise caution when driving.

“As of mid-afternoon Thursday, 26 roads are reported closed in the nine counties of the Virginia Department of Transportation’s Culpeper District,” reads the release. “In Albemarle County, one southbound lane of U.S. 29 is closed near North Garden due to a pipe failure under the road. Drivers should slow down and follow directional signs as they approach that area.

Locally several events scheduled for this weekend have been postponed such as a Friday night concert at the Rivanna River Company as well as the annual Loop deVille circuit of the Rivanna Trail. 

“We have been at it since dawn preparing for this flood and for additional rainfall from Hurricane Helene tomorrow,” reads a Facebook post for the Rivanna River Company which operates on floodplain land now owned by the City of Charlottesville.

The forecast for more rain is on top of heavy amounts that have fallen already. Nearly five inches of rain have been recorded in the past 72 hours at a monitoring station on the Lawn at the University of Virginia. A station in Esmont recorded nearly six inches in the same period. (view the site)

Do you have a plan for emergency preparedness? This is the national month for that and Albemarle County sent out a reminder this month with a link to the national page on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Another handy resource is a link to the emergency alert system run by local public safety officials. 

“By opting in, you can be notified by the Charlottesville-UVA-Albemarle ECC and your local emergency response team in the event of emergency situations or critical community alerts,” reads the website. 

Meanwhile, staff at the Albemarle Charlottesville Historical Society are concerned about what additional rain might mean for the Hatton Ferry they operate on the James River near Scottsville.

“It is moored to the shore with a chain of 1/4 inch thick links and fastened with a heavy duty padlock and another heavy duty quick link,” said Sterling Howell, the program manager for the ACHS and manages the ferry. “If the current gets strong enough to break the chain or fasteners as it has twice in the last five years, we’ll be pulling out of the Buckingham County trees with a very large piece of machinery once again.”

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