Portsmouth gets ready for nor'easter

PORTSMOUTH, Va. - The summer storm that flooded High Street in August was a storm like Downtown Portsmouth had not seen in many years. So much rain fell so quickly, rising flood waters stranded cars and swamped shops and restaurants downtown.

Now, with a Nor'easter approaching, downtown residents and shop owners are getting prepared. Restaurant staff at the House of the Blue Iguana, which suffered water damage in August the day before its grand opening, spent Tuesday evening gathering piles of towels and lining up sandbags. "We are all kind of worried," said manager Nancy Martin. "I'm really concerned."

The owner of Way Back Yonder Antiques on High St., which also suffered damage in August, says he will be paying close attention to the weather reports. "We are just playing it by ear and watching the tides," said Ken Woolard.

Business owners say what made things worse this past summer were all the cars driving down High St. and pushing waves of water into the shops lining the street. So, city officials are working on a plan to deal with that problem. Portsmouth Police Sgt., Rusty Venters told WAVY.com that police and fire officials have been talking with businesses about establishing a city ordinance that would empower selected, trained business owners to shut down sections of High St., if flood waters reached a predetermined level. He said that would enable a much faster response because police officers are often swamped themselves during flooding situations.

That ordinance will not be in place in time to deal with the approaching nor'easter, so city officials have already placed orange cones and blockades downtown that can easily be used to block High Street if necessary.