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:
“So now it is vain for the singer to burst into clamor
With the great black piano appassionato. The glamour
Of childish days is upon me, my manhood is cast
Down in the flood of remembrance, I weep like a child for the past.”
—D.H. (David Herbert)
“Twilight and evening bell.
And after that the dark!
And may there be no sadness of farewell,
When I embark;
For though from out our bourne of Time and Place
The flood may bear me far,
I hope to see my Pilot face to face
When I have crossed the bar.”
—Alfred Tennyson (1809–1892)