People who live along Fourpole Creek in Huntington found themselves gathering at the West 5th Street bridge to share concerns about the stream on Friday, April 4, 2025.
People who live along Fourpole Creek in Huntington found themselves gathering at the West 5th Street bridge to share concerns about the stream on Friday, April 4, 2025.
Fourpole Creek ran swift and high Friday morning, its waters coming within about a foot of the large road deck support beams of the bridge at West 5th Street and Whitaker Boulevard.
People gathered there to watch the water pass and to see if they needed to take action should the water reached the height it did back in February, when it flooded houses near its bank in Huntington.
ƵNow, every time it rains, weƵre so frightened by it,Ƶ said Cindy Lowe, who lives at 13th Avenue and 4th Street. Lowe and her mother, Pearlene Kuhner, had walked down North Boulevard to see for themselves how concerned they should be.
Lowe said she and Kuhner, who is also her neighbor, nearly lost their cars to floodwaters in February, and they know another flood is always a possibility.
ƵWeƵve lost two hot water tanks, and the cleanup is terrible from the floods,Ƶ she said.
Fourpole had plenty of clearance under the new bridges at 5th and 8th streets. The 12th Street bridge passed water, but because of its arch design, if the creek had been a foot or two higher there could have been trouble as the arch narrowed the channel width.
In the Enslow Park neighborhood, people walked along the creek, for the time being not worried about having to move their vehicles or belongings in their homes. The creek was high but still a few feet below the top of the bank, and it was receding.
This time rainfall was spread out over a few days, with breaks that allowed Fourpole to drain runoff before the next storm arrived.
WeƵre moving into the time of year when floods are fewer, but Fourpole will flood again. Finding workable solutions to flooding in the basin will take time. Efforts are underway to mitigate damages. The federal government has begun the process of helping people raise their houses on their foundations, or building new houses on higher foundations, or even buying people out and demolishing houses in the most flood-prone areas. These processes take time, and there is no guarantee these efforts will be funded.
Summer will be here soon, but thatƵs no reason to forget about the causes and effects of flooding along Fourpole. Friday morning was a wakeup call Ƶ one that will be repeated as FourpoleƵs neighbors watch the creek after every prolonged storm.
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