A mudslide near Yeager Airport in Charleston, West Virginia, seems to have settled after damaging several homes and destroying a home and church.
The slide decimated Keystone Apostolic church and caused flooding, damaging several homes in the process, WSAZ-TV said.
Residents who voluntarily evacuated 130 homes may have to remain in hotels for a bit longer, as airport officials cannot give an estimate on a return date, WSAZ reported.
"Yeager Airport is a fairly unique airport in that it was built on top of a hill due to the lack of suitable flat land for a commercial airport. To make the hilltop flat enough for runways, 9 million cubic yards of earth and rock were moved when the airport was built in the 1940s. It's not surprising, then, that there might be some areas vulnerable to landslides after a spell of warm, wet weather following a prolonged deep freeze," said weather.com senior meteorologist Nick Wiltgen.
Yeager Airport public information officer Mike Plante told WSAZ, "At this point, I wouldn't want to speculate with too much specificity because we just don't know. A lot depends on the weather. A lot depends on what the engineers tell us; what they can do and when they can do it."
Officials are worried rain could worsen the landslide.
"On top of this wet soil and everything else, it's a big concern for us," Kanawha County's emergency services deputy director C.W. Sigman said.
Wiltgen said the airport has seen about 4.14 inches of rainfall since March 1, more than twice the amount it normally sees the first 12 days of the month.
Photo Credit: Jerry Waters photo/For the Charleston Gazette
Photo Credit: Jerry Waters photo/For the Charleston Gazette
The Kanawha County Emergency Services deputy director told The Weather Channel officials are not asking residents to leave due to concerns of the slide falling on homes, but because of the risk of flooding after the landslide created a dam on the Elks Two Mile creek. At 10:30 a.m. Friday morning, excavation crews were working to clear the creek of mud and rock to avoid additional flooding, WSAZ said.
The Air National Guard 130th Airlift Wing Fire Department and Pinch Volunteer Fire Department crews worked torescue a man who was stranded after the footbridge leading to his home was washed away Thursday, C.W. Sigman, deputy director of Kanawha County emergency services, told The Charleston Gazette.
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Five residents were stranded in their homes after additional slides, and crews from local fire departments came to their aid with boats, preparing to evacuate them by Two Mile creek if necessary, WSAZ reported. All five were safely rescued.
The Associated Press reported the landslide broke a gas line, cutting off the supply to about 30 customers.
Yeager Airport officials stationed an observer in the parking lot of Keystone Apostolic Church, who allegedly spotted the new slide activity, The Charleston Gazette noted.
Kanawha County School buses stopped service to Keystone Road due to the danger the mudslide presented and will be running on a new schedule, WOWK-TV said.
Kent Carper, Kanawha County Commission, told WOWK, "Public Safety is our first and last priority. I urge everyone in the area to take this advisory seriously and err on the side of caution. Yeager Airport will help arrange accommodations for anyonewho needs them." The airport has not ceased any activity due to the slide.
Sigman expects families will not be able to return to their homes for a few days, the Associated Press reported.
By Carolyn Willi, weather.com
