September is National Disaster Preparedness Month, and the Virginia Department of Health is urging residents to prepare as the state enters peak storm season.
“Be prepared for every possible eventuality,” said Bob Mauskapf, VDH’s emergency operations director.
The Virginia Department of Health is part of the state’s Virginia Emergency Response Team (VEST), which is responsible for monitoring the health effects of mold in flooded homes, disease transmission through mosquitoes that congregate near standing water, and the resulting hospital congestion. The team is spearheaded by the Virginia Office of Emergency Management and includes several other state agencies.
North America shifted from a dry El Niño climate earlier this year to a wetter La Niña weather pattern that occurs once every two to seven years, leading the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to predict that there could be an increase in damaging named storms this year.
Millions of people in Texas lost power this summer and at least three people died in the storm’s second and perhaps most destructive hurricane of the season, Beryl. So far this year, Virginia has only issued a state of emergency in response to Tropical Storm Debby, its fourth hurricane of the season. While Debby did not hit Virginia as hard as North Carolina, preliminary investigations estimated that tornadoes hit Glendee and Willisville, with wind speeds reaching 90 and 100 miles per hour, respectively.
“[Debby]was a pain for us,” Mauskapf said, adding that the storm season, which runs through Nov. 30, “isn’t over yet.” But in Virginia, “the peak of tropical storm activity in this part of the country is typically October, early November. We’re entering the peak of the Atlantic basin hurricane season, so to speak,” he said.
Last week, Virginia braced for increased rainfall from Tropical Storm No. 8, a storm that typically moves in a circle, unlike a derecho, which moves across the region in a straight line, Mauskapf explained. While the rain left Virginia sooner than expected, the water level of the James River at Sewell Point in the Norfolk area rose to 4.87 feet on the night before Sept. 17, more than a foot above ground level.
Strong winds, gusting to 15 mph, coming from the northeast, kept the water from receding, causing back-up water in the area. Rain over the weekend caused the water level in the same area to rise more than 5 feet between Sunday night and Monday.
A screenshot of the National Weather Forecast Service’s weather observation of the James River at Sewell Point. (Courtesy of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)
To prepare for the next severe weather, VDH urges people to keep their cell phones charged, have a backup power source, fill up on gas, safely store non-perishable foods and have a first aid kit ready. Evacuation options are provided through one of VDH’s 35 local departments across the state, and additional safe spaces are available in coordination with universities in the event of an emergency.
The State Corporation Commission, which oversees insurance in the state, also urged residents to keep their insurance up to date, including “mandatory” flood insurance to repair damage to their homes, as federal assistance is expected to be delayed and flooding threats are expected to continue. Flooding is a common risk in Virginia, both in the short and long term.
Norfolk, on the east coast, is experiencing the nation’s fastest rate of sea level rise, at 5.38 millimeters per year, which prompted the city to propose a $2.6 million sea wall construction project. The state’s Coastal Resilience Master Plan, which is due to be updated later this year, states that “the number of residents living in homes at risk of significant coastal flooding is projected to increase from approximately 360,000 to 943,000, an increase of 160 percent.”
In southwest Virginia, the towns of Hurley and Whitewood were hit with 4 to 6 inches of rain in 2021 and 2022, respectively, and state emergency officials are looking for ways to fill the gaps in post-storm relief. Scientists say what happened in these small communities is the result of climate change, which is making storms more intense and more frequent. Officials are now challenged with how to deploy resources in the face of increasingly intense weather.
“We’re not dealing with climate change or forecasting; we’re dealing with the consequences of climate change,” Mauskapf said, “so we have our plans and our messaging prepared for these types of more frequent storms, warmer temperatures, colder temperatures, anything that we might see. The threats are the same.”