Flood
On May 2, 2002, Buchanan County experienced heavy showers and thunderstorms throughout the day. In the town of Hurley, Virginia, 4.5 inches of rain fell during the course of a few hours, causing local streams and rivers to swell. Between 2:00pm and 3:30pm, Knox Creek, which ran through the town of Hurley, had overflowed its banks and submerged the town in up to twelve feet of water. Roads were washed out, and emergency personnel were not able to reach the town until 7:00pm that night. Two people were killed, and 98 families (the majority of the town's residents) were left without homes. In addition, 19 county bridges and 102 private bridges were destroyed, blocking access to 235 homes in the area.
Shortly after the flood, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Virginia Department of Emergency Management agreed to reimburse Buchanan County for up to $7.1 million for debris removal and other recovery efforts. Initial cleanup efforts were performed by Disaster Recovery Contractors, subcontracted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. However, county officials objected to the use of external contractors and requested that local contractors be hired instead. FEMA approved the request and allowed the Buchanan County Board of Supervisors to select the contractors and oversee cleanup efforts starting in June 2002.
The recovery funds, which the county was given permission to award without competitive bidding, were awarded to local contractors and vendors who were later discovered to have paid approximately $545,000 worth of bribes in order to obtain these contracts. Some of the bribes accepted by county officials included all-terrain vehicles, NASCAR tickets, $40,000 worth of coon dogs, and $350,000 in cash.
Read more about this topic: Operation Big Coon Dog
Famous quotes containing the word flood:
“The vines of her arms
didn’t cling to the ends of his clothes,
or did she plant herself in the doorway,
hurl herself at his feet,
or utter the word “Stay!”
But as that fool began to go
at the time when it was dark with swarming clouds,
the slim girl blocked her lover’s way
with only a rising river
made with her flood of tears.”
—Amaru (c. seventh century A.D.)
“Men hold themselves cheap and vile; and yet a man is a fagot of thunderbolts. All the elements pour through his system: he is the flood of the flood, and fire of the fire; he feels the antipodes and the pole, as drops of his blood: they are the extension of his personality.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“There are flood and drouth
Over the eyes and in the mouth,
Dead water and dead sand
Contending for the upper hand.
The parched eviscerate soil
Gapes at the vanity of toil,
Laughs without mirth.
This is the death of the earth.”
—T.S. (Thomas Stearns)