NORFOLK, Va. — As Hurricane Dorian bore down on the Outer Banks, Hampton Roads braced for its impact. In a place where flooding is a common occurrence, hurricanes tend to bring out the biggest fears.
This is life at sea level.
Hurricane Dorian beat down on Hampton Roads and the usual trouble spots started to flood. Little Creek began to come out of its banks around noon in Oceanview.
"if it flooded like this it and it ain’t high tide,” Oceanview resident Eric Mack said. “It's only gonna get higher."
By early afternoon Pleasant Avenue had flooded and the Bay streets were covered. Mack has lived here for 10 years and he said he has seen it all.
"I lived on 9th Bay and I stayed in an apartment complex and I had six steps it went up to my apartment complex and it was almost coming up to the door and that was on a nor'easter."
Dorian didn’t bring the worst, but it certainly created widespread flooding. The water rose enough to capture cars, flood yards, and block streets.
It was much of the same story in Colonial Place.
The floodwaters created a special type of chaos on Hampton Boulevard in Larchmont. The four-lane road was underwater just past Magnolia Avenue on the way to Naval Station Norfolk. Dozens of drivers attempted to ford it.
"We were just driving through and saw that one car had been flooded out so we stopped to help them,” Hunter Noffsinger said. “We've been helping people ever since."
For a couple of hours, with no police in sight, Noffsinger directed traffic. Doing the best to keep drivers from attempting to ford the floodwaters.
"Nobody is out here in our community helping so it’s up to our community we have to help each other,” Noffsinger said.
Sure enough, at least one driver went through the water, came out, and then stalled.
As the tidewaters began to recede Norfolk police showed up. Officers blocked off the street and relieved Noffsinger of traffic duties.
“You gotta do what you gotta do,” Noffsinger said of the brief volunteer traffic director duties.
It was clearly not the worst flood Norfolk has seen, but just another chapter in life at sea level.
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