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Red Cross officials from the region said this afternoon that they have not received calls for help in Montgomery County despite the heavy rainfall and flooding in the eastern parts of the county.

“We haven’t gotten any disaster calls that I’m aware of,” said Marty Brownrigg, who is with the Greater New River Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross in Radford.

Steve Smith, director of emergency services for the Roanoke Valley Chapter, said his office anticipates that Danville and Pittsylvania County may be where assistance might be needed because of flooding.

-- Sharla Bardin

Mike Stevens with the City of Salem shares these photos of flooding on Mill Lane.

You can view his photos in the slideshow above or in this gallery format.

We have other photos of flooding in Salem here.

Steve and Barbara Krzysko of Salem share this gallery of flooding photos from around Salem today.

You can view their photos in the slideshow above or in this gallery format. These are from the Colorado Street Bridge and Mill Lane.

The Region C Division 2 football playoff game between Giles and Radford scheduled for Friday at Radford High School has been postponed until 7 p.m. Saturday due to heavy rain.

-- Robert Anderson

As rain continues to fall at noon, Appalachian Power is reporting outages around the region.

In Burnt Chimney, 1,988 customers are without power due to broken equipment, said spokesman John Shelpewich. In Bedford County 176 customers are without power and 70 in the Hunting Hills area have been without power in Roanoke County since early this morning.

Spokesman Jim Shepelwhich said it's tough to tell if the outages are weather related. But spotty outages continue across the Roanoke region.

Flooding could impact underground lines, but Shepelwich said he hasn't seen any indication of that yet.

To view other outages across the area, click here.

-- Janelle Rucker

From the Virginia Attorney General:

RICHMOND -- Attorney General Bill Mims announced that Virginia’s Anti-Price Gouging Statute, which prohibits the charging of “unconscionable” prices for “necessary goods and services,” is now activated.

Last night Gov. Tim Kaine declared a State of Emergency for Virginia, as the Commonwealth sustains flooding and storm surges from the remnants of Tropical Storm Ida and a coastal Nor’easter. By law, Virginia’s price gouging statute goes into effect upon the issuance of a declared state of emergency by the Governor.

The Virginia Post-Disaster Anti-Price Gouging Act, which became law July 1, 2004, prohibits the charging of "unconscionable" prices for "necessary goods and services" in the affected areas within Virginia for the 30-day period following the disaster that resulted in the declared state of emergency.

The basic test under the statute is whether the price charged for the goods or services "grossly exceeds" the price charged within 10 days before the disaster. "Necessary goods and services" includes those goods or services for which demand does, or is likely to, increase as a result of the disaster.

The Attorney General’s Office has reached seven legal settlements with gas stations over price gouging after a state of emergency was declared Sept. 10, 2008 as Hurricane Ike approached the Gulf Coast.

“Virginia’s Post-Disaster Anti-Price Gouging Act leaves room for standard market forces to work in times of disaster and prohibits only the charging of unconscionable prices for necessary goods and services during these rare times,” Attorney General Mims said. “Hopefully Virginia retailers will be aware of this law’s current activation, and keep it in mind as they proceed with business during this flooding and storming. We intend to enforce our statute, as our record of law suits and settlements demonstrates. We will continue to do so in a reasonable and fair manner.”

Anyone who suspects price gouging should immediately report this to the Office of Consumer Affairs, which investigates complaints of this nature. The Office of the Attorney General works with the Office of Consumer Affairs to bring actions against individuals or companies alleged to have violated the statute.

Citizens can contact the Office of Consumer Affairs at:

Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
Office of Consumer Affairs
102 Governor St.
Richmond, VA 23219
804-786-2042 or 1-800-552-9963
804-225-2666 (fax)

Click here to download a price-gouging complaint form.

At Carilion Clinic, officials were watching the river closely, but had yet to take any action.

All access roads to Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital remained open at 11:45 a.m., spokesman Eric Earnhart said.

Should the river threaten Roanoke Memorial, a marble facade at the building's front is designed to function as a flood wall, with a built-in pumping system. Hospital officials have wall sections that can be inserted into the facade to offer additional protection, but those were not needed by late morning.

At Riverside Center, new medical buildings in the area of the once flood-prone Victory Stadium are designed to withstand flooding. The bottom floor of each building is a parking lot. Employees may be advised to move their cars to higher ground if the river continues to rise, but so far that has not been necessary, Earnhart said.

-– Laurence Hammack

The impact of almost 48-hours of nearly constant rains has raised a spike in "home improvement" efforts, specifically involving wet basements and leaky roofs.

"Normal customers are rained out, but the basement-flooded peple are coming in," said Eddie Hopkins, manager of Northwest True Value Hardware on West Main Street in Salem.

Sump and utility pumps were avidly sought items, with Hopkins reporting half of his stock of about a dozen pumps sold by 11 a.m. They range in price from $57 to $110 for utility pumps, or $130 to $170 for sump pumps.

Tarps, rain suits, shops vacuums and de-humidifiers were also frequent purchases.

Rental property owner Melissa Wright-Hughes, of Salem, bought a solution to fix a roof that was leaking in three places and a spatula to apply it. She said she bought a specific brand because she needed it to work in the rain.

Water-proofing businesses also reported increased activity.

"We're overwhelmed," said Keith Martin, manager of the Roanoke County office for Sure Dri. He estimated business upswing in the Roanoke and Lynchburg areas at roughly "a gagillion percent."

Danny Riggins, who performs basement waterproofing for Snyder & Associates in Blacksburg, said calls are coming in fast but said that's fairly typical for rainy days.

"Just about every time it's raining, somebody's got issues," he said as he answered calls from Shawsville to Vinton. "On a normal week I'd look at one or two houses a week. Now, I've got three days worth of houses."

"Extreme weather always increases business," agreed Carlile Robertson of Northwest Hardware.

-- Katelyn Polantz and Neil Harvey

In Eastern Montgomery County, Larry Hall watched as the South Fork of the Roanoke River -- three times its normal width -- engulfed his yard and surrounded the stilts underneath his home on Old Roanoke Road.

Justin Cook | The Roanoke Times Larry Hall watches as the Roanoke River swells over the bottom of his back stairs at his home in Elliston off of Old Roanoke Road. Hall refuses to leave because during past flooding neighbors reportedly burglarized his home.

Members of the Elliston Fire Department had already been by to check on him, Hall said, but he had no plans to leave until the water crossed the road.

If he were to leave, Hall said, neighbors from down the road were likely to break into his home. It's happened before, he said.

"We go through this every time" there is heavy rainfall, he said.

"We've seen it worse," said his daughter, Virginia Walden, who had driven from Roanoke with her husband to help her father move his vehicles to higher ground.

When Hall rebuilt his home several years ago, he decided to put it on stilts to keep the inside from flooding as easily.

Hall, Walden and several others stood next to the house and watched the river rush by. A bridge just past their house that crosses the river and leads to two other homes was covered in so many tree branches and other debris that it was difficult to see. The neighbors had another way out of their homes, though, Walden said.

"At 12:00 last night I started hearing logs hit the bridge," Hall said. "Sounded like a car crash or something."

"At least it's slowed up raining," he said.