(Danville, Va.) — At least six deaths have been blamed on Michael, the most powerful hurricane to hit the continental U.S. in over 50 years. The sheriff’s office in Gadsden County near Tallahassee says it “can now confirm 4 storm-related fatalities following Hurricane Michael,” all of which happened “in relation to or occurred during the storm.” An 11-year-old girl in Georgia died when a carport lifted up and crashed through her grandparents’ roof. A driver in North Carolina was killed by a tree.
A Pittsylvania County man died in the flash flooding Thursday. 45-year-old James E. King, Jr. of Dry Fork drowned after his vehicle was caught up in the rising waters. It happened in the 600 block of Sandy Creek Road in Mt. Hermon around 3:30 p.m. A Pittsylvania County Sheriff’s Deputy and a local resident tried to rescue King, but the floodwaters were too deep and too swift for them to maintain contact with him. Officials say that officers and local volunteer firefighters were able to locate King’s remains around 10:30 last night.
Virginia State Police say one firefighter has been killed and several others have been injured while providing help at a highway crash. The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports 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 firetruck was rear-ended by a tractor-trailer. The tractor-trailer driver also was seriously injured.
Danville remains without two power feeds from AEP and the city can’t restore service until AEP repairs those feeds. Local line and tree crews are scouting our distribution lines and repairing damage and are being assisted today by crews from three cities. About 20,000 customers Danville-area customers are without power. With the power outages, traffic signals at many intersections are not in operation. Treat these intersections as four-way stops. Travel only if you must, proceed with caution if you travel. Many streets have damage or debris.
A local state of emergency remains in effect along with a Flood Warning. The Dan River crested in Danville at 30.01 feet, which is more than a foot above the river crest of 28.65 feet during Hurricane Fran. The river is projected to remain in major flood stage until Saturday morning. Major flood stage is 25.5 feet. The current river level is 28.7 feet. National Weather Service meteorologist Phil Manuel says the flood warning will likely continue through the weekend.