Matthew more than expected
Published 12:06 pm Wednesday, October 12, 2016
By Diana McFarland
Managing editor
Hurricane Matthew was expected to make a sharp turn east at the South/North Carolina line and spare southeastern Virginia, and Isle of Wight County, from its effects.
The storm did not heed the forecast.
Instead Matthew made landfall in South Carolina and then continued up the coast and came close enough to dump from six to nine inches of rain in Isle of Wight County.
The rain and high winds Saturday afternoon and through the night led to downed trees, flooded and washed out roads and power outages in many parts of the county. {mprestriction ids=”1,2,3,4,5,6″}
Carrsville volunteer firefighters had to help some residents from their home on Jenkins Mill Road due to being trapped by rising water, said Lt. James Pope with the Isle of Wight County Sheriff’s Office.
Pope said roads were sufficiently flooded in the southern end of Isle of Wight to require the use of the agency’s Humvee high water vehicle.
Carrsville firefighters used a johnboat Sunday morning to rescue a man stranded on the roof of his truck on Carrsville highway.
It appeared he drove into standing water, which was probably five feet deep along Route 58 at the time, said one firefighter who participated in the rescue but did not want to give his name.
Around the same time, a propane tank floated down the road, unmoored from a nearby business, said the firefighter.
Other major roads were closed Sunday, including Route 460 at Yellowhammer Road, Route 258 south of Walters, business route 258 and Route 17.
Isle of Wight County roads reported as washed out by VDOT Monday included Muddy Cross Drive, White House Road and Holly Run Road.
Reports came in mid-day Monday about possible wash-outs on Harry Wilson and Colosse roads
In Surry County, Routes 10, 31 and 40 had areas listed as passable with care by VDOT.
For up-to-date road status, visit 511virginia.org.
Isle of Wight County schools were closed Monday due to hazardous road conditions.
The Blackwater River above Franklin was about five feet above flood stage on Monday and expected to remain at flood stage until the end of the week, according to the National Weather Service.
Founders Pointe in Carrollton had several trees fall on houses, as did one on Bartlett Circle, said Pope.
As of Monday morning, 452 customers in Isle of Wight and 30 in Surry remained without power, according to Virginia Dominion Power. Community Electric reported two outages as of Monday.
Dominion expected to have power restored over the next few days.
The Virginia State Police reported one traffic fatality in Smithfield over the weekend, and another of a Carrsville resident in Chesapeake.
Linwood Morris Barnes, 36, of the 700 block of Powhatan Parkway in Hampton, died after his 2001 Lexus overturned on Waterworks Road in Smithfield at about 10:30 p.m. on Saturday night, according to Sgt. Michelle Anaya with the Virginia State Police.
Barnes was southbound on Waterworks Road when he ran off the road, struck a culvert and overturned. He was not wearing a seatbelt at the time, according to Anaya.
The same night, motorist Anthony Edward Longoria, 38, of the 28000 block of Walters Highway collided with the rear of a tractor-trailer that had stopped for a downed tree along Interstate 64 east of Military Highway. The accident occurred at 2:08 a.m.
Longoria suffered serious injuries and was transported to Norfolk Sentara Hospital where he later died, according to Anaya. {/mprestriction}