Lightning, floods cause hubbub in Opp
Published 12:33 am Wednesday, August 10, 2016
![Crews work downtown after lightning struck the building that houses Uptown Flea Market. Courtesy photo](https://www.andalusiastarnews.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/13/2016/08/0810-Uptown-Flea-market.jpg)
Crews work downtown after lightning struck the building that houses Uptown Flea Market.
Courtesy photo
Monday’s storms not only caused flooding in downtown Opp, but at least two businesses were struck by lightning.
Opp’s FM radio station, WAMI, was one of those.
“It hit our tower,” said Harry Phillips, general manager. “And it fried our board. It burned it up. That’s a $6,000 cost there.”
Phillips said his station was off the air for 18-20 hours including the time they normally broadcast their morning show.
“This is the worst strike we’ve had,” he said.
Uptown Flea Market was also struck by lightning.
Stacey Parker, general manager of Opp Utilities, said Monday’s storms brought several isolated outages due to lightning.
“One tree laying against one line had to be removed before we could re-energize that, and we had a water stub-out that was damaged when lightning hit a pine tree,” he said. “The lightning ran approximately 25 feet to the stub-out, affecting one house.”
According to the Choctawhatchee Pea and Yellow River Watershed Management, Yellow River at Hwy. 84 received 1.25 inches in a 48-hour period.
Recent data showed that the river was 0.940 feet deep on Aug. 7 at 11:51 p.m. and was up to 4.72 feet on Tuesday.
City Planner Jason Bryan said it was estimated that around 6 inches of rain fell on the City of Opportunity in a two-hour time period.
“That was just too much at one time,” he said. “It was like a 100-year flood event.”
Bryan said that there are some places in Opp that need drainage work.
“There are some places that need pipes and there are also some places that never should have been built on,” he said. “I was pleased with the efforts made by our fire department, street department, water department and utilities department.”
Bryan said the water department worked into the night after a water main was struck by lightning.