ROANOKE, Va. – The repercussions of Tropical Storm Nicole are now being felt all throughout the state of Florida. Even though Virginia is located hundreds of miles away, emergency agencies are making preparations for the potential impacts that the rainfall may bring.
“We’re always in kind of a state of readiness just by the nature of our job. Danville is unique, we do have a regional swift-water team. That team has been briefed on the weather situation,” said Tim Duffer, deputy fire chief with the Danville Fire Department.
Flooding is something that immediately springs to mind when significant rains is predicted for an area, but the fact that the water levels in the Dan River are now low is good news for the Southside.
“We’re not expecting a big rise in the river currently, but that could change. The Dan River is extremely low right now, so that’s actually a benefit.”
Additionally, other parts of our hometowns are adopting precautionary measures.
Schools in Halifax County have been shut down, and Bedford County has made sure residents are aware of information in case of an emergency. As the weather moves closer to our regions, the term “safety” should be at the forefront of everyone’s mind.
“Avoid at all costs driving through flooded roadways. It may seem not that deep, but it may have washed out the road. The weather service has a great slogan, ‘turn around, don’t drown.’ We preach that a lot.”
A flood watch is in effect until late Friday night for Carroll County, Floyd County, Grayson County, and Patrick County.
