Common blacksnakes, found throughout Virginia, may imitate rattlers by vibrating their tails. and canebrake rattlesnakes are found in the southeast corner of the state. Snakebites from poisonous species in Virginia are rarely fatal, and average just one every five years. There are three species of venomous snakes in Virginia - rattlesnakes, water moccasins (northern cottonmouth), and copperheads. However, the shovel operator scrambled off the rig, walked off the job and didn't return. When the excitement was over no person was harmed and most of the snakes made to safety. As I recall there were about eight or ten workers in the immediate area and I believe both men and snakes were about equally frightened trying to get out of harm's way. One snake traveled down the shovel boom onto the operator's platform. In his excitement, the operator stopped the shovel with the scoop in midair and snakes were dangling in all directions.
Much to everyone's surprise the shovel came up with a scoopful of those rocks along with many snakes from beneath the surface where they had made a den for the winter. An observer later described the moment: 1 When the Skyline Drive was being built in the 1930's, the operator of a power shovel excavated more than a bucketful of rocks. In the Blue Ridge and on other mountain ridges, copperheads and rattlesnakes gather together to overwinter in dens underneath rocks. Source: Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (DGIF), Flickr Sheriff John McClanahan said that the floodwaters are receding and the county is working with the Virginia Department of Transportation crews to assess damages to homes and to remove debris and mud from the roadways to get them reopened.Cottonmouth at False Cape State Park (City of Virginia Beach) "We have the mountains, not a lot of place for the water to go." "We've seen everything from the landslides to just flooded roads, where the road's been completely washed away, and so that's presented challenges with getting our teams in and making access," he said. He said crews searched 30 miles (48 kilometers) and more than 400 structures. Three roads were closed Thursday, including Route 715, which was expected to remain closed indefinitely because of a bridge that was damaged by the flooding.Ĭhrimes said one of the biggest challenges for rescue crews was the large geographic area that was affected. At least one bridge had collapsed, and one home appeared to have been pulled from its foundation and carried across the street, where it was perched on top of a car Thursday morning.Īuthorities said only one injury was reported, and that was a snake bite. In Whitewood, an unincorporated community with a population of about 500, mud left from the flooding was 1 to 2 feet deep in some places. "The next thing you know, the house is floating on down through there. Seth Owens told the station he was among people who sought refuge at a post office and witnessed houses washing away.
"We gathered at my house and we said if it got any higher that we were just going to start heading up in the mountains to try to get safe, but luckily, thank God, we didn't have to," Deana Kimbrough told WCYB-TV. Residents said they were stunned by the dramatic flooding, which caused mudslides that blocked roads, knocked out power and left many people without phone service. Several communities in the Virginia county that borders West Virginia and Kentucky were affected. We plan for the worst, we hope for the best, and once again, that's been the case," Chrimes said.įirst responders in Buchanan County began receiving reports of rising water and damage Tuesday night after a torrential rainstorm swamped the mountainous area. "We walk into it as a worst case scenario. But by noon Thursday, everyone had been located. Rains that swiftly flooded a remote corner of Southwest Virginia washed out roads, tore homes from their foundations and left people scrambling to find loved ones in areas where phone service was knocked out completely.Īuthorities feared the worst on Wednesday as they were inundated with calls from people who said they were unable to reach family members, leaving a total of 44 people unaccounted for, said Billy Chrimes, a search and rescue specialist with the Virginia Department of Emergency Management.
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