Flood of 1985: Roanoke County reflects on lessons learned, push for preparedness

ROANOKE COUNTY, Va. (WDBJ) - The Flood of 1985 caused catastrophic damage across Southwest Virginia, washing out bridges, roads and neighborhoods. Nearly 40 years later, Roanoke County officials are reflecting on that disaster while highlighting how emergency response has changed since then.

Since 1985, state code has changed to require every locality to have an emergency manager and coordinated plan. Virginia now has emergency staff spread across seven state divisions, with mutual aid agreements and intergovernmental partnerships in place to support jurisdictions in need.

“Disasters do not know boundaries,” said Mike Guzo with the Virginia Department of Emergency Management. “Partnership and collaboration are so important.”

Local and state emergency management leaders say one of the biggest improvements is the ability to communicate across jurisdictions.

“Over the years since that incident, the mitigation measures that have been put into place greatly help reduce the chances of something of that magnitude happening again,” said Dustin Campbell, Chief of Roanoke County Fire & Rescue.

From swift water rescue teams to regional communications systems, officials say Virginia is better prepared than ever to handle flooding and other disasters.

“We have swift water rescue teams, incident management teams, hazardous materials teams, and a regional communications cache staged throughout the Commonwealth ready to support jurisdictions when the time arises,” said Mike Guzo with the Virginia Department of Emergency Management.

But while resources and technology have advanced, leaders say preparedness starts at home. They are urging families to make evacuation plans, prepare emergency kits, and stay ready in case disaster strikes again.

“The flood of 1985 is the flood of record around here, but we were 50 miles east of Helene and it could easily happen here,” Guzo said. “It’s really imperative that every citizen takes that to heart and has a plan to take care of their family, their pets, and knows where to go if they need to evacuate.”