RICHMOND, Va.-
Up to 9 inches of rain soaked parts of Virginia, forcing the evacuation Saturday about 100 people in a six-block section of this capital city and causing scattered flooding in the southeastern part of the state.
A ferry across the James River was temporarily suspended because of high waters. In southeast Virginia’s Isle of Wight, officials evacuated about three dozen people and reported widespread flooding after at least 8 inches of rain since Friday.
“We have more roads out than we can keep track of,” said Don Robertson, a spokesman for the county. “We have some bridges that are out (and) a lot of flash flood conditions.”
The National Weather Service said rainfall since Friday ranged from 4 to 9 inches as a storm stalled over the state and a band of rain drenched central Virginia to Hampton Roads. Rain was forecast to taper off later Saturday.
In Richmond’s Battery Park, police went door-to-door to more than 40 homes and apartment buildings to enforce the city-ordered evacuation. A month ago, the area was flooded during Tropical Depression Ernesto, causing $9 million in property damage and the condemnation of 68 properties. More than 250 homes were evacuated then.
The latest evacuation involved approximately 100 residents, said Britt Drewes, a spokeswoman for the Department of Public Works. An emergency shelter was opened.
“These residents are so sad to see this again,” Drewes said. “When the rain started, everybody cringed. There’s just frustration.”
The flooding is partly the result of a broken sewer main that fouled the flood waters and brought vermin and snakes into some residents homes during Ernesto. Forty million gallons of water a day is being pumped from the neighborhood, but that doesn’t keep up with the rain, Drewes said.
“At this point, the water is still very high,” she reported before noon Saturday.
Repairs to the sewer pipe are complicated because it is under a former landfill about a mile from the urban neighborhood.
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