Hampton Roads emergency crews on standby to handle potential impacts from Idalia

Aug 04, 2023

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VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Idalia's first rain bands are anticipated to hit parts of Hampton Roads on Thursday. Areas like Virginia Beach and Norfolk are at risk of potential flooding and some strong wind gusts.

At the Virginia Beach Oceanfront, both visitors and residents walked along the boardwalk with few concerns regarding the upcoming impacts from the storm system.

"We're going to make the best of it," said Nick Szirmae, who is in Virginia Beach as part of his family vacation.

Carolina Gayfield and her husband, Jordan, had just moved to Virginia Beach a few months ago. They said they anticipated the hurricane season to impact coastal Virginia, but they didn't expect this effect so early in the season.

They said aside from Idalia probably raining down on their plans with their family, they are not too concerned about the storm system.

"We knew it was going to happen eventually," said Gayfield. "I don't think we're super worried just where we are in Virginia Beach. If it starts to rain, we'll just stay indoors, so we'll be okay."

While Hampton Roads is not in the direct path of the storm system, emergency preparedness directors like Jim Redick in Norfolk, consider it an opportunity to remind people how to prepare for these types of storms.

"This is an excellent time for us to review our plans, kind of a rehearsal for what we could see later on in the year," Redick said.

Redick said he's been monitoring Idalia's path and is learning flooding may be Norfolk's biggest concern. He said his team is monitoring several neighborhoods prone to this problem. He added every time he addresses flooding concerns, he always has to remind people to not drive through flooded roadways.

Redick encouraged all drivers to download the Waze GPS app to get alerts about flooded roadways. Recently, the city of Norfolk partnered with Waze to track and warn drivers about flooded roads.

"We just anticipate we're going to get a lot of calls on the 911 side," said Redick, referring to people calling about their car stalling out on the road. "The lesson still hasn't been learned all the way and we try to tell folks... whether it's an indication from Waze, or a sign, or not, when you see water on the roadways, don't drive in it, because you don't know how deep it might be."

Redick said if it's not an emergency and your car stalls out while you drive through a flooded roadway, the city will not send out assets to help you. He said you will have to call and pay for a tow truck driver to get your car out of the water.

A spokeswoman for Virginia Beach sent a statement to 13News Now, saying crews are on standby for reports of any trees or branches falling as a result of any strong wind gusts.

"The ground is already somewhat saturated from previous rain, which makes shallow root systems that much more vulnerable. Our goal is to clear roads as quickly as possible and respond to any impacts," the statement read. "So, at this point, it's really monitoring for tidal flooding and beach erosion impacts, and preparing our public safety and road crews to respond."

The statement went on to say swimmers and surfers should be aware of potentially dangerous rip currents Friday into Saturday, even after Idalia passes through.