Hurricane Camille

Hurricane Camille (HM1QZO)

Location: Arrington, VA 22922
Buy Virginia State flags at Flagstore.com!
Country: United States of America
Buy United States of America flags at Flagstore.com!

N 37° 42.333', W 79° 0.882'

  • 0 likes
  • 0 check ins
  • 0 favorites
  • 625 views
Inscription

The Virginia Blue Ridge Railway Trail

On the night of August 19th, 1969, Hurricane Camille passed over a sleeping Nelson County, forever changing the land and the people who lived here. The storm initially made landfall in Mississippi and weakened as it headed inland, thus forecasters did not expect the storm to turn toward Virginia.

With little warning, at least 27 inches of rain fell over Nelson County in a 5-hour span. The resulting flash flooding and mudslides destroyed 100 bridges, tore countless buildings from their foundations, and re-routed waterways.

The storm took the lives of more than 100 people, many of whom were taken by surprise as flood waters rose while they slept. 52 people were killed along Davis Creek, 22 died in the village of Massies Mill, and more than 30 people were never found.

The aftermath of Camille required an immense search-and-rescue and clean-up effort and led to new emergency preparedness protocols.

(captions)
(top right) Although Camille had been downgraded to a tropical depression when it arrived in Virginia, the storm collided over Nelson County with a cold front approaching from the North. The combined weather patterns resulted in the heaviest rains ever recorded in Virginia from a tropical cyclone, the worst flooding of the James River in over a century, and mudslides that were predicted to occur only once every thousand years. Courtesy of NOAA.

(middle right) The Virginia Blue Ridge Railway was forced to rebuild after flood waters carried away bridges and heavily damaged sections of track. The cost of repairs was the first in a series of events that brought about the downfall of the railway. Courtesy of Whippany Railway Museum.

(bottom right) These photos from 1969 show the force with which floodwaters overtook the landscape. The Piney River (center) and Tye River (bottom) washed away entire bridges as well as anything within hundreds of feet of their banks. Courtesy of the Library of Virginia.
Details
HM NumberHM1QZO
Tags
Placed ByVirginia Blue Ridge Railway Trail
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Wednesday, March 9th, 2016 at 9:04am PST -08:00
Pictures
Sorry, but we don't have a picture of this historical marker yet. If you have a picture, please share it with us. It's simple to do. 1) Become a member. 2) Adopt this historical marker listing. 3) Upload the picture.
Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)17S E 675007 N 4175000
Decimal Degrees37.70555000, -79.01470000
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 37° 42.333', W 79° 0.882'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds37° 42' 19.98" N, 79° 0' 52.92" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)434
Which side of the road?Marker is on the right when traveling North
Closest Postal AddressAt or near Virginia Blue Ridge Railway Trail, Arrington VA 22922, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

Is this marker missing? Are the coordinates wrong? Do you have additional information that you would like to share with us? If so, check in.

Nearby Markersshow on map
Check Ins  check in   |    all

Have you seen this marker? If so, check in and tell us about it.

Comments 0 comments

Maintenance Issues
  1. Is this marker part of a series?
  2. What historical period does the marker represent?
  3. What historical place does the marker represent?
  4. What type of marker is it?
  5. What class is the marker?
  6. What style is the marker?
  7. Does the marker have a number?
  8. What year was the marker erected?
  9. This marker needs at least one picture.
  10. Can this marker be seen from the road?
  11. Is the marker in the median?