Questions abound and answers remain scarce as Fairfax County explores what could have caused the severe flooding in Arlington Terrace that devastated the Huntington-area community.
The neighborhood was overtaken by surging waters from nearby Cameron Run during this week’s violent and unprecedented rainfalls. Putrid water reportedly crashed into basements and ruined piles upon piles of belongings. In the aftermath, 160 homes were declared unfit for habitation.
Many theories have been put forward to explain the flooding’s severity. Some blame recent construction of the new Woodrow Wilson Bridge span, although it’s unclear what impact the project might have had. Water released from a nearby dam and runoff from a nearby development also have been cited as possible contributors, said Mount Vernon District Supervisor Gerald Hyland.
“It is clear that presently they do not know what cause or causes are responsible for the flooding,” Hyland said.
Russ Fuhrman, project manager with a contractor for the Woodrow Wilson Bridge project, said he has heard questions about whether the span impacted the flood.
“Prior to construction, we took a good look at what the impacts of our project would be,” he said. “Our view is that our construction out there had a negligible impact on the event that happened.”
The county is working with the Army Corps of Engineers, the Virginia Department of Transportation and the City of Alexandria to investigate the wreckage, according to county spokeswoman Merni Fitzgerald.
“There will be no simple answer as to a single cause of the flooding,” she said. “There are a lot of variables, but we are doing due diligence to look into the situation.”
Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, who earlier this week declared a statewide emergency, asked President Bush on Friday to issue a federal disaster declaration and provide funding assistance for 13 localities in the state. Statewide, 1,600 homes and about $13 million in government property have been damaged, according to the Department of Emergency Management.
Initial damage assessments in N. Virginia as of Friday
» Fairfax County – $4.6 million
» Arlington County – $8.4 million
» Prince William County – $55,000
