PHOTO: Sunday night's storms brought several rounds of heavy rain and low-end tornadoes to DeKalb County, resulting in damage to roads across the county. (Marla Jones | Southern Torch)

By Marla Jones, Managing Editor • marla@southerntorch.com

DEKALB COUNTY, Ala. — On Easter Sunday, heavy rains caused flooding in DeKalb County.  A large amount of water resulted in damage to several roads within the County.

“Our local Emergency Management Agency (EMA) is currently working with the State EMA assessing the damage,” stated DeKalb County Commission President Ricky Harcrow. “All road crews are back working full time and working as quickly as possible to get the roads repaired”.

According to the DeKalb County Emergency Management Agency, the following county roads are closed or otherwise damaged by the recent flooding events:

• District 1 (Northend of DeKalb County which includes Henagar, Mentone, North Fort Payne and Valley Head): CR 739, CR 667, CR 635, CR 712, CR 641 and CR 757
• District 2 (SW portion of the County which includes areas such as  Geraldine, Crossville, and portions of Fyffe): CR 360, CR 28, CR 1986, CR 388 and CR 33
• District 3 (South Dekalb County, portions of Fort Payne and Lookout Moutain): CR 39, CR 51
• District 4 (Sylvania, Rainsville, and portions of Fyffe): CR 44, CR 143, CR 92, CR 695

DeKalb County Engineer Ben Luther stated some roads had washed out pipes that could not even be located due to flooding. Those sections would have full pipe replacements, and most other roads would need backfilling.

After the county meets its threshold, the Federal Highway Emergency Fund could pay for repairs. If President Trump makes a declaration of emergency, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) could also help fund repairs. 

“We are assessing the damage, taking measurements and pictures and filling out the necessary paperwork,”  Luther said. “It will take a little time to get through the process.” 

The DeKalb Road Department is prioritizing the jobs according to damage. 

“I expect that it will take 8-12 weeks to get everything back open and repaired,” stated Luther.  “The roads with the most damage, such as County Road 641 in the Mentone area and County Road 44, [which] is a major collector of traffic, will receive priority.” 

The DeKalb County Emergency Management Agency (EMA) is conducting storm damage assessments. Homes and businesses that suffered damage due to this weather event on Sunday night and Monday mornings should contact the EMA at (256) 845-8569 or email at ema@dekalbcountyal.us.