VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Crews across Hampton Roads are gearing up as a coastal storm moving along Virginia and North Carolina ramps up Sunday evening.
Local emergency management officials told 13News Now that their crews are prepared for high winds and possible flooding forecasted to come their way. Crews will be busy Sunday through Monday morning monitoring the weather and preparing for any possible impacts.
RELATED: Radar: Sunday's Coastal Storm System
Inclement weather preps are a year-round task for the city of Virginia Beach, said Dave Topczynski, the director of the city's emergency management department.
"The Virginia Beach Department of Emergency Management (VBEM) regularly meets and trains with our public-facing departments on these plans to ensure they remain current," Topczynski explained. "As the weather system approaches, we facilitate information sharing amongst departments while monitoring for any impacts that could significantly impact our citizens' or guests' safety or well-being. If we detect that the weather is causing significant impacts, VBEM coordinates responses to mitigate the issues. Each department closely watches for impacts within its area of operations and works to address them as quickly as possible."
The same goes for crews across the water.
Mike Holtzclaw, Hampton's Communications Coordinator, said this year, crews have cleaned nearly half of the city’s storm water systems to help alleviate flooding.
“…Which is great because it means there’s not much more capacity for the water and it makes everything move more efficiently," he explained.
Holtzclaw said crews are prepared for the strong winds and possible flooding as well.
"If you are seeing the high winds, certainly if you're seeing the flooding, don't go out if you don't have to. If you are out and you see a street that's flooded, don't try to drive through it," warned Holtzclaw.
Over in Chesapeake, Deputy Director for Public Communications Elizabeth Vaughn said crews have been preparing for days now.
“On Friday, our public works department sent crews out to some of those known choke points throughout the city to make sure the storm water system is cleared out and functioning as well as it can," she said.
If the storm impacts transportation, energy, fuel or communication -- which are all deemed "community lifelines" -- Portsmouth said it has equipment ready to work through it.
In addition to continued monitoring of the forecast and impacts, a spokesperson for the City of Suffolk reported "Individual City Departments are following their respective storm preparation procedures."
VBEM recommends residents use the city's notification and alert system which is connected to the National Weather Service (NWS), providing the most up-to-date information about the weather.
For non-emergency impacts or concerns, including flooded roadways or fallen trees, call 311. Officials remind residents to only call 911 in an emergency that requires an immediate response.
Some Dominion Energy customers are already feeling the impacts of the storm, with the utility company reporting nearly 500 customers without power as of 5:45 p.m. A spokesperson for Dominion Energy told 13News Now earlier that they were ready for the anticipated outages Sunday evening and into Monday morning.