NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — If you’ve lived in Hampton Roads for awhile, you know that when it rains, it pours, and when it really pours, it often floods — which brings us to Flood Awareness Week in Norfolk.
“Flood Awareness Week is a national campaign designed to just keep the public informed about flood risk and things they can do to mitigate their flood risk on their property,” said Kyle Spencer, Norfolk chief resilience officer.
At the top of that list is flood insurance, because just one inch of water can cause upwards of $25,000 in damages, and 40% of flood insurance claims come from low-risk areas.
Homeowners and renters insurance policies don’t cover flood damage.
As for the city?
“We’re taking a holistic approach to deal with flooding,” Spencer said. “We’ve got everything from programs to help people understand how to capture water on their property, soak it up where it falls and slow it down, releasing it into the system slower, to large-scale infrastructure projects. We’ve got projects with [the] stormwater division of public works.”
Similar to the pump station on Ballentine Boulevard, it’s designed to take storm and rainwater off the streets and pump it back into the river.
Along with future projects with the Army Corps of Engineers and apps to help drivers navigate flooded areas, these are all part of Norfolk’s plan to keep you dry when the water levels rise.