City-by-city storm report: Toppled trees, flooded streets

This nor'easter was wet, dark and miserable, but it didn't pack the wallop of major storms that have hit Hampton Roads.

Officials reported widespread but minimal damage. For most, the remnants of Hurricane Ida didn't match the 2003 havoc wrought by Hurricane Isabel. In fact, state officials doubt Hampton Roads cities will qualify for state or federal aid to pay for clean up. Gov. Timothy M. Kaine will tour the region today for a firsthand assessment.

"Isabel was a much more overwhelming storm," said Bob Spieldenner, spokesman for the Virginia Department of Emergency Management. The cities and state expect to get a clearer picture of the damage next week.

Spieldenner said if damages to public and private property look significant, Kaine will send a request for aid to President Barack Obama. No money has been promised so far from the state or federal government, he said.

When Isabel stormed through southeastern Virginia, federal and state coffers paid for most of the clean up and repairs, which approached $100 million.

Throughout Hampton Roads, city workers conducted emergency repairs, closed roads and bridges as the storm blew through a third day. Homeowners along the waterfront took the brunt of the property damage.

The Port of Hampton Roads began to reopen at 8 a.m. Saturday after being closed since Thursday afternoon, the Coast Guard announced. The main channel is open for immediate shipments only.

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NORFOLK

Mayor Paul Fraim said the storm was one of the worst the city has seen, delivering "near historic levels of flooding."

"We've had about as much water here in Norfolk as anyone can remember," he added. "It just seems we have more water on the street."

Norfolk inspectors will be back out in some of the hardest hit neighborhoods Sunday starting at 10 a.m., looking for damage. The running tally as of 4:45 Saturday was $17.9-plus million in damages to 474 buildings. They are not going to be doing more tonight.

Fraim said the city hoped to be reimbursed from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for its expenses related to overtime and clean up work.

Willoughby's beaches were hit particularly hard, with some dunes washed away entirely, said Lee Rosenberg, the city's environmental services manager.

Toward East Ocean View, the beaches fared better. Dunes suffered about 20 feet of erosion, compared with 30 feet during Hurricane Isabel. After Isabel, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the city and the Virginia Port Authority rebuilt East Ocean View's beach with more than 357,000 cubic yards of sand.

"Those nourishment projects really worked," Rosenberg said. "Without it, we would have had some significant damage."

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PORTSMOUTH

Portsmouth Fire Battalion Chief Jeff Terwilliger said Saturday that a preliminary assessment of damage showed nine homes with major damage, 20 with minor damage and 147 affected in some way. Four multi-family dwellings were damaged. Two public places -- the nTelos Pavilion and a police station -- also had some damage.

Terwilliger said a rough estimate of the costs was about $464,000, but that number could change as additional reports come in.

"This is really a snapshot," he said.

Water had receded in Olde Towne and Port Norfolk, the hardest hit neighborhoods, he said.

About 60 city blocks and intersections were impassable because of flooding or downed power lines.

High waters plagued downtown and the Olde Towne district. But, as in Norfolk, the sound of crashing trees was but a whisper of Isabel's assault. By Friday afternoon, only eight downed trees had been reported.

The city sandbagged some public buildings, pumped water from the basement of City Hall and lost yet another chunk of the nTelos Pavilion to the storm.

Some of the city's sewer pump stations failed in the heavy rains, said Bryan D. Foster, director of public utilities. But, he added, "we believe we have them all up and running now" with the portable generators.

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VIRGINIA BEACH

The most significant damage will likely be to the beaches, said Dave Hansen, a deputy city manager.

"I believe we've lost 50 percent of our beach protection," he said. Hansen estimated the cost of the sand erosion to be about $10 million.

Neighborhoods had flooded streets and some homes had water damage, Hansen said.

Jerry Banagan, the Beach's real estate assessor, estimated the storm caused $3 million in private property damage, most to homes in the Lynnhaven Colony and Broad Bay Colony neighborhoods near Shore Drive. The roads in those neighborhoods were so flooded, Banagan said, that his staff couldn't do a survey.

Half of the city's sewer pump stations lost power Thursday, but most were back on line after power was restored or the backup generators kicked in, Hansen said.

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CHESAPEAKE

Waterfront homes fared badly although overall damage in the city was considered minimal, said Eric Martin, the director of public works.

Residents of Inland Colony, a neighborhood along the Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River with streets named Waterfront and Deepwater drives, moved around their neighborhood in kayaks and hip waders.

The storm pushed tides 2 to 4 inches higher than Isabel on many of the 58 homes in the neighborhood, said resident Brian Bell. Floodwaters filled homes and garages, ruining floors, vehicles, tools and most anything left at ground level.

The one flooded road leading to the neighborhood, Deepwater Drive, was 18 inches deep at low tide, Martin said. Even though some roads were submerged, the city survived with little serious harm to roads, drains, parks and other infrastructure, Martin said. Reports of flooding and downed trees were widespread.

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SUFFOLK

The city was spared the brunt of the nor'easter, with sporadic road closures due to flooding. City officials never had to fully activate the Emergency Operations Center.

The North Main Street corridor near the Kimberly Bridge and the Bennett's Creek area along the Nansemond River were among the hardest hit.

The Ballard Clubhouse, a landmark built on the river, collapsed Thursday night or early Friday, said co-owner Drexel Bradshaw. Built on pilings and accessible by boat, it was a re-creation of the 1930s-era river house blown over during Hurricane Isabel.

Bradshaw helped build the newer version of the clubhouse - two buildings with a covered porch in between - on the original pilings. "People have asked me, 'What are you going to do?' " Bradshaw said.

"I don't know."

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MILITARY BASES

Scattered debris and flooding was reported but no major damage. The Joint Expeditionary Base was hit the hardest of Navy-run facilities, said Beth Baker, a spokesman for the Navy's Mid-Atlantic Region. About a dozen privately owned boats in the marina on the Little Creek campus were swamped.

Pilot writers Janie Bryant, Deirdre Fernandes, Meghan Hoyer, Hattie Brown Garrow, Amy Jeter, Meredith Kruse, Debbie Messina and Mike Saewitz contributed to this report.

Virginian-Pilot staff writers Lou Hansen, Amy Jeter, Jeff Hampton, Meghan Hoyer, Hattie Brown Garrow, Shawn Day, Deirdre Fernandes, Jen McCaffery, Kathy Adams  and Janie Bryant contributed to this report.