(Danville, Va.) — Numerous roads in Danville and Pittsylvania County remain closed or impassable this morning and thousands are without power as the remnants of Hurricane Michael ripped through the region with a vengeance yesterday, downing trees and flooding streets and homes. Phil Manuel with the National Weather Service in Blacksburg says the Dan River reached an all-time high of 30 feet overnight and will remain above flood stage through the weekend. The Dan hasn’t reached this level since Hurricane Fran in September 1996. Manuel cautions that the danger for flooding will continue for at least the next 24 hours and perhaps into Sunday.
One death in our area has already been blamed on flash flooding. A 45-year-old man in Pittsylvania County died after his vehicle was swept away by the floodwaters. James E. King, Jr. drowned in the 600 block of Sandy Creek Road in Mt. Hermon around 3:30 p.m. Despite the valiant efforts of a Pittsylvania County Sheriff’s Deputy and a local resident to rescue King, the floodwaters were too deep and too swift for them to maintain contact with him. Officials say that officers and local volunteers firefighters were able to locate King’s remains around 11 p.m. The National Weather Service in Blacksburg tweeted that “extreme flooding” also struck other parts of Pittsylvania County. County officials reported multiple ongoing swift water rescues.
One firefighter died and several others were hurt while providing assistance at a highway crash. Hanover County firefighter Lt. Brad Clark died Thursday night and three other firefighters were seriously injured. State police say the fire crew was responding to a two-vehicle crash on Interstate 295 near Richmond when their fire truck was rear-ended by an 18-wheeler. The tractor-trailer driver also was seriously injured.
20,000 Danville Utilities customers are without power this morning. Two of AEP’s three power feeds to the city are out of service. Power cannot be restored until AEP repairs the feeds. In the interim, crews are scouting our lines for damage. Crews from three cities will arrive this morning to assist; however, customers should be prepared to not have service restored for 24-36 hours due to the damage. Danville remains under a state of emergency and a flash flood warning continues today. The NWS says a possible tornado touched down near Ballou Park in the Howeland Circle area Thursday afternoon. An emergency evacuation shelter has been opened in Bonner Middle School.
As the city of Danville grapples with the flooding associated with Michael, high water rescue teams units from the Virginia National Guard and Virginia State Police are coming in to help. The units will arrive in the city Friday morning, according to city officials. City officials are asking people to stay away from any downed power lines. They are also warning drivers that travel throughout the city remains dangerous due to debris, and many traffic signals are not working.
The National Weather Service is sending a team of spotters to Danville today to examine storm damage in the Ballou Park area, after a possible tornado touched down around Howeland Circle. The National Weather Service says that it has confirmed one tornado in Virginia. The NWS in Wakefield says radar confirmed the tornado shortly after 5:30 p.m. It touched down near Scott’s Fork, which is in southern Amelia County and about 36 miles southwest of Richmond.