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DELUGE SOAKS NORTHERN NECK "Super Nor'easter" soaks Northern Neck, but region escapes heavy damage Date published: 11/14/2009
BY FRANK DELANO "Is this thing ever going away?" Northumberland County Administrator Kenneth D. Eades asked yesterday. Thankfully, "this thing" may go away today. "This thing," of course, was the severe nor'easter that pounded the region with wind and water since Wednesday. The storm mangled an untold number of umbrellas, flooded roads, closed schools yesterday in the Northern Neck and caused a rash of traffic accidents in Virginia, three of them fatal. Eades estimated tides in the Potomac River were more than three feet above normal. Coastal flooding occurred in low-lying areas, such as the village of Lewisetta in Northumberland County and low spots in Colonial Beach. "The Dockside Restaurant looks like an island in the middle of a lake," Colonial Beach Police Chief Christopher Hawkins said shortly after high tide yesterday morning. "We've got a little water in the parking lot," said Bruce Seaton of the Colonial Beach Yacht Center Inc., which shares the low-lying spit with the restaurant. Seaton said the marina, its docks and boats had all weathered the storm without damage. Hawkins said the storm injured no one and caused minimal property damage in the town. The town's beaches may have suffered most, he said. "The storm washed a lot of sand away," he said. Hawkins said access to the town on State Route 205 was threatened but not blocked by high water at Wilkerson's Seafood Restaurant and the Mattox Creek Bridge. Southeast Virginia was hit the hardest. Near hurricane-force gusts battered Norfolk and filled rain gauges with 10 inches of water. A 5-foot tidal surge in Hampton Roads came within two inches of matching Hurricane Isabel's in 2003. According to Virginia Dominion Power, nearly 250,000 customers in southeast Virginia lost electricity in a two-hour period Thursday night. More than 100,000 remained without power yesterday. Robert M. Pitman said he measured 6 inches of rain from Tuesday night to Friday morning at the Eastern Virginia Agricultural Research and Extension Center near Warsaw. His son, Robert K. Pitman, said he measured 13.5 inches in the same period at his home near Montross. The storm closed schools yesterday in Colonial Beach, Westmoreland, Northumberland and Lancaster Counties. It also prompted Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine to declare a state of emergency and the town manager of Colonial Beach to declare a local emergency. The governor's declaration triggered the state's Post-Disaster Anti-Price Gouging Act that prohibits the charging of "unconscionable" prices for "necessary goods and services" for 30 days. The Virginia Department of Health also banned oystering in Virginia waters until Wednesday, because of possible water pollution from the storm's massive runoff. The National Weather Service has now nicknamed the storm "Super Nor'easter." By this afternoon, its wicked winds and rains should finally have blown away. The forecast for tomorrow is sunny and mild. Frank Delano: 804/761-4300
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