Dayton businesses clean up after flash flood Monday night

DAYTON, Va. (WHSV) - Major rainfall swept through the Harrisonburg-Rockingham area on Monday with some areas getting two to three inches of rain in a matter of hours. The Dayton area saw some flash flooding, and local businesses off of John Wayland Highway were hit particularly hard.

Grammie’s Ice Cream and Valley Water Gardens both saw significant flooding as the road into the businesses was covered with water, and both businesses had to do some serious cleaning up on Tuesday.

WHSV spoke with one of the owners of Valley Water Gardens on Tuesday to see what the damage to the business was, and how the clean-up efforts have gone so far.

“We’ve had some challenging times, but we’re grateful for those who have reached out to help and get us back in working order,” said Kelly Herron, owner of Valley Water Gardens.

The owners of Valley Water Gardens were called Monday night and were told about the rising water levels at their business. When they arrived, there was little they could do.

“We drove over, and we were unable to get into our shop because of the high water. So, we basically just watched our poly furniture and made sure that it stayed put,” said Herron.

Kelly Herron said luckily the shop’s furniture is waterproof and none of its plants or retail fish were harmed. The only damage the business had to deal with on Tuesday was outside of the shop.

“Our back marginal beds that hold our water lilies and our marginal plants are very full and we’re probably going to have to pump water out of that to keep it from crashing in,” said Herron. "

Valley Water Gardens plans to open for its regular hours on Wednesday after working to address the landscaping damage done by the flood.

“Basically, our stone yard has some ruts and some gravel that was displaced, a lot of debris that we’ll have to clean up,” said Herron. “We’re going to just have to do some leveling out, and we’ll have to move our furniture, of course, and level out where the water washed away the gravel underneath the furniture out front. But as far as damage to the furniture, everything looks good.”

Grammie’s Ice Cream already reopened on Tuesday after some debris cleanup.

The Rockingham County Department of Fire and Rescue said that despite the flooding of some roads on Monday, no structures were damaged, no injuries were recorded, and no one had to be evacuated.

A few cars did get stuck though, so the department is reminding drivers of its ‘Turn Around, Don’t Drown’ campaign to encourage drivers to turn around when they see high water on the roads.

Copyright 2024 WHSV. All rights reserved.