Town of Rich Creek cleaning up after weekend flash flooding

RICH CREEK, Va. – Communities across southwest Virginia are still cleaning up from flash floods that wreaked havoc over the weekend.

On Saturday night, downtown Rich Creek was hit with serious flash flooding. Now businesses and residents are working to recover. Cellphone video shows the scene outside Queen's Pizzeria with feet of water rushing through the streets and into businesses. 

"We saw like a river coming to the store. If we opened the door, it would flood so we tried to put rags under the door, but it didn't help. Nothing helped," said Abdelmohsen Mahmoud, partner owner of Queen's Pizzeria. 

Downtown business owners say the flash flooding happened so fast there was nothing they could do. Town officials say they've never seen flooding like that.

Days later, the streets are mostly cleaned up and the businesses back open, but down the street, the owner of one apartment is taking stock of what she's lost. 

"We have a lot of personal stuff, our kids' stuff, clothes, toys, washer and dryer, Christmas decorations and everything," said Angel Parks. 

Park's basement was destroyed by floodwaters. Thankfully, her family lives upstairs and wasn't home when the rain hit. Parks says she was shocked by the flash flooding and without renter's insurance, she isn't sure what's next. 

"We've lost quite a few thousands of dollars worth of stuff. We're both on a fixed income, got two birthdays coming up and Christmas," said Parks. 

The town of Rich Creek is still trying to assess all the damage from the weekend. One bright spot -- officials say there were no reported injuries related to the rain. 



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