VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Parts of Pungo saw minor flooding and ponding on the roadways. Virginia Beach city leaders put up signs letting people know about the possibility of high water.
Residents like Renee Tomlin said she appreciates the workers who are making sure homes and neighborhoods don’t flood.
Tomlin lives in Pungo and told 13News Now that the flooding is a concern to many homeowners.
“I’m worried, but I’m going to ride it out and see what happens,” Tomlin said.
Tropical Storm Elsa is expected to bring heavy rain and wind to Hampton Roads.
“I got flood insurance, not that I want to use it,” explained Tomlin.
She’s had water in her home before and never wants that to happen again.
“That’s what I’m worried about,” she said. “It coming back in again. I’m hoping the wind is calm and that the water levels out some and it will do that on its own.”
Tomlin said she even moves her cars out of her driveway to make sure they don’t flood.
“We move them over to our other property that’s a little bit higher so I don’t have them flooding and sometimes we even put up fake bulkheads, a temporary one just so the water wakes against that instead of my house,” she said.
Tomlin says when the road floods in front of her home, many people drive too fast and it pushes water into her yard and close to her home. She wants to remind people to please slow down!
Ahead of tropical storm Elsa, Drew Lankford with Virginia Beach Public Works says crews checked all of the pump stations and cleaned storm drains. Lankford said the biggest concern is how much wind and rain we will get at the same time.
He said the other big problem spots are Hilltop, Shore Drive, Windsor Woods, and Rosemont Road.
“With a city like this, that is surrounded by water we do this 52 weeks a year. All we do when a storm comes up is we ratchet it up a few notches and make sure everything is in place. We got crews ready, trucks. We are good,” explained Lankford.
Leaders with Virginia Beach Waste Management say people need to make sure their trash cans or yard debris bags are not blocking storm drains.
They say if your recycling hasn’t been picked up by 7 p.m., you should take the cart off the street and put it back at 7 a.m. Friday.
