Submitted photo West Virginia Division of Highways road crews worked to clean up after a massive storm across the state last week.

CHARLESTON — West Virginia Division of Highways road crews worked overnight and continued to work 24 hours a day to assess and clean up damage caused by a massive storm that moved through the state on April 11.

Most of the state had been under a tornado watch until 9 p.m. Thursday night. Tornados did not materialize, but high winds and a largely stationary storm front dumped record amounts of rainfall on the Kanawha Valley and other parts of West Virginia, leading to mud and rockslides, downed trees and flash flooding.

Some parts of the state received five inches of rainfall in the space of several hours.

WVDOH Chief Engineer of Operations Joe Pack, P.E., said the worst of the flooding was concentrated north of Interstate 64. As of 2 p.m. Friday, April 12, multiple roads remained closed by high water in Kanawha, Cabell, Jackson, Clay, Mason, Lincoln, Pleasants, Wood, Doddridge, Harrison, Marion, Monongalia, Morgan, Brooke, Marshall, Ohio, Tyler, and Wetzel counties.

Such large amounts of rainfall are bound to cause flooding. But, Pack said, “In West Virginia, it’s not the volume of the water but the velocity that causes damage to roads.”

In Kanawha County, record rainfall overwhelmed storm drains on Interstate 64 near the Greenbrier Street exit, flooding the interstate. WVDOH work crews waded into the rushing water with rakes to clear the drains by hand and drain the cascading water away.

WVDOH crews worked overnight Thursday and continued to work Friday to clear downed trees and mud and rockslides. But on roads that were still flooded, work crews had to wait until the water recedes to assess any damage to the road.

But Pack said an aggressive core maintenance program over the last several years has significantly reduced damage to Mountain State roads during floods.

“Water is our enemy,” Pack said. “Anything we can do to keep water away from our roadways is going to extend the life of our pavement.”

In addition to keeping ditches and drains as clear of obstacles as possible, WVDOH road crews actively clear trees, limbs, and branches from above roads to allow the sun to shine down and help dry wet pavement.

Crews also clear brush from the side of the road for better sight lines and to minimize clogging ditches.