NORFOLK, Va. — Residents of coastal Virginia were bracing Sunday for the potential of severe tidal flooding, beginning overnight Monday.
Remnants of Hurricane Ian have moved offshore and formed a nor’easter that is expected to pile even more water into an already inundated Chesapeake Bay, said Cody Poche, a National Weather Service meteorologist. That could lead to the most significant tidal flooding event in the Hampton Roads region in the last 10 to 15 years, Poche said.
Flooding is expected to cause extensive inundation of roads and buildings, “resulting in a significant threat to property and life,” a weather service coastal flood warning for the area said. The Eastern Shore and northern portion of North Carolina’s Outer Banks were also likely to be impacted.
A handful of coastal Virginia school districts on Sunday canceled Monday's classes, and local officials were urging residents to prepare.
The cities of Norfolk and Virginia Beach declared local states of emergency Sunday, as the did the island town of Chincoteague, which strongly recommended that residents in certain areas evacuate.
“We are asking people to be very thoughtful, and not to take risks,” said Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who noted that Virginia remains under a state of emergency declared last week.
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