HAMPTON, Va. — Tropical Storm Debby is on its way up the coast, with its expected arrival in Hampton Roads coming on Thursday.
Although the peninsula is not in the direct path of Debby, it's still forecast to get a decent amount of rain, about two to four inches over the next few days. In efforts to prevent extensive damage from flooding and high winds, the City of Hampton is preparing for the worst.
Mike Holtzclaw, Communications Coordinator for the City of Hampton, said that while they are preparing for the worst, this isn't out of the ordinary this time of year. In fact, the city started prepping for major storms months in advance.
Holtzclaw explained, “There’s some prep that starts at the start of hurricane season before there’s even a named storm.”
But with Tropical Storm Debby's approach, Hampton is taking some of these preliminary precautions to the next level.
“If the worst happens, you don’t want to start scrambling,” Holtzclaw explained.
Specifically for Debby, Holtzclaw said the city began its storm preparations over the weekend, establishing a plan of action to keep people safe while the storm passes through.
“Our public works dept has the bulk pickup trucks on standby in case they need to pick up any debris, tree limbs, that kind of thing,“ he said.
While public works is on standby during the storm, Alexis Stutz, owner of Luca’s Tree and Stump, said she and her team have worked to prep trees for the past two weeks to avoid extensive damage from falling trees during the storm.
She said that “maintenance on the trees, uplifting trees, and just kind of keeping an eye out,” are all important when her business thinks about storm preparations.
Candles, flashlights, generators, all important tools Holtzclaw said to have on standby at home for the storm.
Whether it's a falling tree or flooding, both Holtzclaw and Stulz say the best thing to do when a storm is predicted to hit the area is to stay prepared and to not underestimate what damage could be done.
“The biggest thing isn't even a resource, it's mentally preparing, being aware. We are going to get storms, and when they come, know in advance what you're going to do,” Holtzclaw noted.