Overstromingen treffen Franklin Virginia city ( vs)

Flooding leads to fuel spill in Virginia city


POSTED: 2:08 a.m. EDT, October 10, 2006
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FRANKLIN, Virginia (AP) -- Flooding following weekend downpours triggered a spill at a fuel distributor Monday, while officials closed downtown Franklin, Virginia, and evacuated at least 70 residents. No injuries were reported.
"There are places that the water is six feet (deep), other places that you can still walk through," said Bruce Edwards, deputy police chief in the southeast Virginia city of about 8,400 that sits at the head of the rain-swollen Blackwater River.
At least 11,000 gallons of gasoline and 1,000 gallons of kerosene leaked from a petroleum depot, fire Capt. Tim Dunn said. Hazardous materials crews sprayed foam on the fuel to prevent it from igniting and put out booms to try to contain the spill.
"There's the potential it could be downriver by now that it could find a spark, but it's real unlikely once it mixes with all that water that it could travel back," Dunn said.
Officials shut down the Norfolk Southern railroad that runs near the spill and police were stationed around the area to make sure no one came into contact with the fuel.
Crews pulled a 500-gallon diesel fuel tank out of the floodwaters, but Dunn said officials weren't sure how much spilled into the water.
Early Monday, at least 70 residents in low-lying area were evacuated. Officials closed downtown at 12:45 p.m., giving about 140 merchants one hour's notice to clear out, Dunn said.
Gov. Timothy M. Kaine declared a statewide emergency Monday after areas in central and southeastern Virginia received as much as 12 inches of rain over the weekend