Mother Nature turned malevolent in summer 2006, unleashing an unexpected and unprecedented storm that ravaged Virginia communities near the Potomac River.
Nowhere was the wrenching devastation of the storm so apparent as in Fairfax County’s Huntington area. Neighborhoods around Arlington Terrace sustained millions of dollars worth of damage when nearby Cameron Run burst through its banks and slammed a wall of putrid water into scores of houses in late June. Property damage assessments for Huntington and nearby portions of Alexandria that also saw heavy flooding ran in the millions.
What followed was a torrent of blame and anger directed toward supposed culprits for the severity of the floods — which many residents do not believe was natural — and toward the Federal Emergency Management Agency, whose inaction sparked similar criticisms as those leveled at the agency in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
In late July, FEMA denied Gov. Tim Kaine’s request and subsequent appeal to open up federal loans and grants to flood-ravaged homeowners. Kaine then turned to the U.S. Small Business Administration, which approved low-interest loans but no grants.
“I think … the least we can do is try to get any type of assistance available for the people in Huntington and elsewhere in Virginia, in light of FEMA’s intransigence,” Fairfax County Supervisor Gerald Hyland told The Examiner in August.
The storms also prompted federal, state and local investigations into what factors may have intensified flood waters. The Virginia Department of Transportation launched an inquiry into whether the recent construction on the Woodrow Wilson Bridge had an effect, but the agency found the project was not to blame. A nine-month U.S. Army Corps of Engineers study is ongoing.
