Meanwhile, state officials said three school affected by the floods of two weeks ago wouldn't open on time in the fall, but then took it back after county school officials said no decision had been made on those schools.
The tornado touched down near the intersection of W.Va. 3 and W.Va. 214 and a portion of Detour Road, according to the team from the weather service's Charleston office sent to survey the scene on Tuesday.
The twister was rated an EF-0 tornado, the lowest tornado rating in terms of wind speed.
Winds of 80 to 85 miles per hour were generated by the Lincoln County tornado, which snapped and uprooted trees along a path two-tenths of a mile long and 50 yards wide, according to the weather service. No one was injured by the storm, although shingles and flashing were ripped from the roofs of several of the affected homes.
A second weather service team on Tuesday was surveying wind damage that occurred Monday near the Lost Creek and Jane Lew communities near the Harrison-Lewis county line in north-central West Virginia to determine whether it also was caused by a tornado.
Earlier Tuesday, a news release from West Virginia Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management Director Jimmy Gianato with updated flood information stated H.E. White Elementary School in Clay County and Clendenin Elementary and Herbert Hoover High School in Kanawha County sustained so much damage, they won't be able to open for the school year this fall.
But Kanawha County Schools Superintendent Ron Duerring told the Gazette-Mail on Tuesday that officials still are aiming for Clendenin and Hoover to start classes Aug. 8 with the rest of the county.
“They will open in the fall,” Duerring said of four Kanawha schools affected by flooding. “Hopefully we can meet the opening day of Aug. 8.”
Clay County Schools Superintendent Kenneth Tanner also said county officials hoped to have H.E. White open by Aug. 18, the first scheduled day for Clay County students. Clay school board members were scheduled to discuss the matter Tuesday night.
DHSEM officials later clarified that they defer to county education officials regarding the status of affected schools.
“From the perspective of the state Department of Education, assessments of these facilities [are] ongoing and no decisions have been made regarding their ability to open on time in the fall,” an email from the agency reads.
Tanner said the sewage system at H.E. White was damaged by flooding.
“We have folks looking at it this week, and if we get that repaired in a timely fashion, we should be able to get open,” he said.
Mike Mullins, Clay County assistant schools superintendent, said the H.E. White building was relatively undamaged by the floods.
“The building itself did receive some minor water damage, but nothing that would stop us from being able to open school,” Mullins said.
He said the county's maintenance director was meeting Wednesday with the National Guard to discuss the septic system.
“We are trying to meet with experts … to do an assessment of what needs to be put in place there to replace the system we have” he said.
Duerring said he didn't know why state officials would say the schools wouldn't open. “I haven't talked to them, so I have no idea,” he said.
Asked about contingency plans in case flood-damaged schools aren't ready to open Aug. 8, he said, “We're working on them, it's only been a week.
“We're just working on the clean up and that involves getting floors clean and stripping and waxing them, getting the damaged furniture out, assessing what materials are needed to open school, whatever needs to be done,” Duerring said.
In Kanawha County, flood cleanup continued despite the rainy forecast.
The debris collection sites at Elkview Middle School and Clendenin Park & Ride will be open this week, today through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Information on the sites' availability beyond Friday will be released later this week. Those who have debris that needs to be picked up curbside should call Kanawha County Planning at 304-357-0570. The collection sites do not accept demolition debris, only accept tear-out and cleanup debris.
Residents who are beginning to rebuild will need a permit from Kanawha County Planning and Development, county officials said in a news release. Kanawha County will be waiving the permit fee for individuals affected by the flood, but they still must come in and obtain a permit. The Kanawha County Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management closed its Command Post and Distribution Center just off Interstate 79 at Clendenin (exit 19) at 5 p.m. Tuesday. County officials said emergency management personnel will continue to assist at the distribution sites throughout the community, including the location at FoodFair in Clendenin and the Elkview Baptist Church, which continue to have supplies to distribute.
The Kanawha County Emergency Operations Center, which can be reached at 304-746-8828, remains open and staffed from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily to assist the public with questions and their needs.
Everyone who was affected by the flooding is encouraged to call FEMA at 1-800-621-3362 to complete an application for assistance.
Kanawha officials advise that FEMA staff members (who will have proper identification with them) also are going door-to-door to assist residents with completing the applications.
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©2016 The Charleston Gazette (Charleston, W.Va.)
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