PETERSBURG, Va. -- Whenever there is a chance of a large amount of rainfall in a short time, many low-lying areas in Petersburg cause significant problems for drivers and some businesses.
A sign warning drivers about the potential for high water and flooding is located across the street from Gale Welding on E. Bank Street.
“I guess the sign is at least a good thing because a lot of cars will come rushing down through here and hit it,” Adam Williams, the shop’s owner, said. “And then next thing you know, they’re stuck underneath the bridge cause they flooded out.”
East Bank Street is well known for flooding. The water sometimes rises high enough to flow inside buildings.
“I’ve seen it probably 14 inches in here,” Williams, who has owned the business for the past 16 years, recalled. “We’ve flooded three times substantially since I’ve been here.”
When a storm is predicted, Williams and his team know the routine they have before they leave.
“At the end of the day, when we go to leave, we’ll lift any kind of valuables up off the ground so the water can’t get to it,” he said.
Petersburg has many streets prone to flooding, which forces some businesses to prepare early for possible flood damage.
Matt Carden said his business has flooded “five times in a year.”
The worst came on Aug. 15, 2020, according to Carden, when the water reached 52 inches.
Carden and his employees will raise pallets up to get valuable equipment off the floor.
“I am concerned. Everything I have I have to get off the floor now and put it up in the air,” Carden said.
City crews have been working this week to make sure flood-prone streets can handle the rain and runoff.
“We’ve cleared all the storm drains in those areas,” Petersburg Public Works Director Jerry Byerly said.
Additionally, Byerly said crews have prepositioned barricades, cones and signs so roads can be quickly closed.
“They’ll be there at a moment’s notice when we need to do that,” he said.
Crews are also now working shifts in preparation for the storm.
“Half our guys are here today, the other half come in at 6 p.m. tonight,” Byerly said.
Drivers were also warned to turn around and not attempt to drive through flooded roads.
This is a developing story. Email the CBS 6 Newsroom if you have additional information to share.
