Caryville avoiding worst of bad weather, flooding

CARYVILLE – Water blocks streets in the small town of Caryville. Church Street is impassable from the south if you need to go to the post office. Other streets are cutoff as the Choctawhatchee River rose last week.

There is little inconvenience, however, because when downtown Caryille was largely destroyed in the 1994 flood the Federal Emergency Management Agency organized a buyout of flood-prone properties that relieved a great deal of the burden to Washington County, as Caryville and Ebro were the most susceptible areas of the county to flooding.

The Riverstop store on State 90 was ready after flooding earlier in the year. Sandbags were neatly piled around the door just in case they were needed to stop water from flowing under the door.

The sandbags were a useful precaution, but they weren’t needed this time as water stayed well away from the store.

Water was high along State 90 as the Choctawhatchee River rose over 16 feet Thursday. Even then the river would not approach 1994 when flooding rose to 23.85 feet. The Holmes County EMA reports that the river reading has been revised with a crest of 16.9 feet Friday.

Residents who live in low lying flood prone areas should continue to take all necessary precautions with personal property, livestock and pets in rising waters if you are in these flood prone areas. Anyone needing emergency assistance should contact the Holmes County Sheriff’s Department at 547-3681.

With the exception of a handful of roads closed there has been little damage so far in Washington County. “Nobody is isolated, no special needs are not being met,” said Emergency Management Director Roger Dale Hagan Friday morning. “There is no need for shelters.

“Some roads are barricaded but none are completely out.”

A low-pressure system swept through the Panhandle and Lower Alabama beginning early Thursday night but came through quickly, leaving only about 2 inches of rain that did not appreciably add to the danger of flooding.

The federal Southeast River Forecast Center in Atlanta, GA reported that rain should hold off for about a week, hopefully providing time for the ground to dry out. The situation would still be monitored, Hagan said.

“Over the coming days water will remain, and there would be ground saturation,” Hagan said. “It will need time to drain.”

County road crews are out measuring damage, and the Board of County Commissioners declared a local state of emergency Thursday. Commission Chairman Eddie Holman urged resident to be patient as crews wait for the roads to drain more before they set out to make repairs.

“We’ve had more than 8 inches of rain in the last few weeks,” Holman said Friday. “Plus, we are shorthanded due to the holidays.

“Please be patient. To send a grader down as dirt road now would leave it in a worse mess that it is now. We’ll get it all fixed as soon as we can.”