VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — There wasn't a person in sight on the boardwalk at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront as high winds and rain fell Friday morning. Though on the roads, several crews with public works were out to monitor the storm.
“We’ve made up our minds for the next 72 hours, we’re just keeping a constant eye on everything,” said Drew Lankford, spokesperson for Virginia Beach.
As rain hits the Virginia Beach Oceanfront, response crews are out on the streets ready to respond.
“High winds, a lot of times, we’re looking for damage," he said. "It blows out the traffic signals and that’s a real problem.”
Lankford said teams anticipate tidal flooding and beach erosion to come with this storm. He said the impact of Ian could push sand out of place and cause fallen trees which teams are prepared to respond to. Crews are also monitoring pumping stations and will clear out storm drains as they pile up.
He said it’s an all-hands-on-deck effort. Many crews are even prepared to work overnight depending on the need.
“We’ve got additional pump trucks, vacuum trucks to go out and do storm drains," he said. "So, we’ve got things in place to go ahead to have an overnight crew get ready. It’s just a matter of how many we have to call in and where they need to go.”
Lankford said the biggest concern is how long the storm will last and how severe it might be.
“If this rain hangs around long enough, after a while the ground will get saturated and that makes tree roots somewhat weak and then all of a sudden you got a tree going down and a power line with it,” he said.
City leaders are asking people to give Public Works a call if they see traffic lights out or flooding in their neighborhood. That number is 757-385-1470.