SMITHFIELD, Va. — On Thursday, a flood advisory went into effect for Isle of Wight County. It’s an area still recovering from back to back flooding events.
Smithfield Volunteer Firefighters are at the ready with rescue boats to deploy.
“We keep it hooked up to our support unit and situations like this where there’s a higher possibility of activation. So we can get out the door a little quicker," said Smithfield Volunteer Fire Department Ryan Gray.
In the past three weeks in Isle of Wight, residents experienced weeks of flooding. The heavy rains washed out roads, people rescued from their cars. Driveways turned into small rivers. Smithfield volunteer firefighters were there to rescue them.
Gray said firefighters are ready to conduct more rescues if necessary.
“We’re preparing our water rescue resources and deploying them to other sites. We have two stations within the town of Smithfield. We’ll have a boat and a crew at our downtown station and boat and crew here at our south church Street station," said Gray.
Gray explained how this current storm may impact Isle of Wight. Gray says the wet ground from weeks of rain may create more damages.
“We’re expecting trees down and possibly power lines and utility poles in the coming days with the winds that are to follow. When you start compounding these things together it tends to be a challenge," said Gray.
Gray pointed out that they have also increased their staff during weather events.