Matt Gentry | The Roanoke Times

Elliston Volunteer Fire Chief M.L. "Pug" Wells waves to a passer-by on North Fork Road in Montgomery County on Thursday. Wells was observing the receding floodwaters of the North Fork of the Roanoke River at its confluence of Bradshaw Creek.

Justin Cook | The Roanoke Times

Debris accumulates like a beaver dam blocking a bridge crossing the Roanoke River along Old Roanoke Road in Elliston on Thursday.

Two days of rain proved little fun Thursday for many New River Valley residents.

In Eastern Montgomery County, residents watched the North and South forks of the Roanoke River and their tributaries rise out of their banks and cross roads and bridges. And around the New River Valley, homeowners dealt with the headaches of flooded basements and leaking roofs.

Gov. Tim Kaine declared a statewide state of emergency Wednesday evening in response to the combined effects of the remnants of Tropical Storm Ida and a coastal Nor'easter. Montgomery County canceled classes Thursday for Eastern Montgomery High School, Shawsville Middle School and Shawsville and Elliston-Lafayette elementary schools.

The county usually monitors Shawsville Elementary closely because the building sits about a foot above the plain. Historically it has not flooded. Dan Berenato, the school system's director of facilities, said floodwaters didn't reach any of the schools.

By lunchtime, most of the rain had moved out of the region, and the Roanoke River at Shawsville had crested at 8 feet -- 3 feet above flood stage -- and slowly had begun to recede, according to the National Weather Service. No one had to be evacuated, county officials said.

Light rainfall was forecast overnight but was not expected to cause any additional problems today.

Montgomery County received between 3.93 inches of rain in Christiansburg and 5.36 inches in Lafayette by Thursday afternoon.

Eastern Montgomery County was hardest hit by flooding, which closed many secondary roads, said Clyde Hodges, assistant chief for the Elliston Fire Department.

Among them was the North Fork Road bridge near Interstate 81, which was well over a foot under water from the North Fork of the Roanoke River by 9:30 a.m.

Resident Amy Reese stood near the bridge taking pictures. She called the flooding the worst she'd seen since February 2003, when Brian Quesenberry, 30, died after trying to get to his truck, which had been swept off the bridge. Quesenberry and his father, Stewart Quesenberry, both spent more than two hours in icy floodwaters that were steadily rising and gaining speed while rescuers tried to reach them.

Reese watched cars attempting to cross the flooded bridge and shook her head. "I don't need anything over there," she said, and headed home.

Living along the Roanoke River has its price, but Brian and Katrina Carney say most of the time the perks outweigh everything else.

The couple moved to Lafayette about a year ago. They live near the confluence of the North and South forks of the Roanoke River with four horses and two dogs.

Their goal Thursday was to keep an eye on the fence and to make sure the river didn't bring it down.

"The water usually goes by here pretty fast, but not this fast," Katrina Carner said.

The couple heard their horses -- Ace, Cash, Scooter and Jake -- naying as the river rushed by. They opened the door to their red barn so the animals knew they weren't trapped and waited to see what the water would do.

The fence stayed safe.

As the water level ebbed in eastern Montgomery County, it rose throughout the afternoon in portions of Pulaski and Giles counties, causing additional road closures there.

In Christiansburg, residents streamed into home improvement stores seeking supplies to deal with leaking roofs and flooded basements.

Mark Ratliff of Blacksburg said he woke to find 3 inches of water in his basement and decided to take half the day off of work to get rid of it.

Ratliff bought a $160 sump pump at Lowe's and said he hopes its high price will assure that it does the job.