Storm flooding affects homes, roads, businesses, and daily life across our coastal Southeastern VA communities.

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Source Citation: Photograph of downtown flooding on Granby Street during the Chesapeake–Potomac Hurricane of August 23, 1933, Norfolk, Virginia. Courtesy of the Virginian-Pilot Collection, Sargeant Memorial Collection, Norfolk Public Library.

Flooding is nothing new to Hampton Roads, but over the past year, we’ve seen more and more clearly how flooding can shut down businesses, close roads, and disrupt entire parts of our communities.

Large infrastructure projects are essential to addressing our region’s aging infrastructure, but neighborhood-scale solutions can also make a meaningful difference.

One piece of the problem is that during heavy rainfall, our stormwater infrastructure can become overwhelmed. We can’t always control how much rain falls—but we can help control how quickly that water reaches the storm drains.

Rain gardens, native plants, rain barrels, trees, and other green infrastructure can help slow, capture, and absorb stormwater where it falls, giving our drainage systems more time to handle the water.

And this becomes especially important when heavy rain arrives at high tide, when water has fewer places to go.

Flood resilience isn’t just about bigger infrastructure. It’s also about what we can do, yard by yard and neighborhood by neighborhood, to help our communities handle the water.

When your street becomes a river…

A Norfolk resident recently took a jet ski down a flooded street after a major storm — and while the video is certainly wild, it also highlights just how much water our infrastructure can be dealing with during extreme rainfall.

Flooding in Hampton Roads isn't just an inconvenience. It can shut down roads, businesses, and neighborhoods.

We need to keep talking about ways to slow, capture, and manage stormwater — from rain gardens and rain barrels to larger infrastructure improvements.

"Lake Onley" has been flooding for decades, as have many noted roads in Norfolk, VA.

Historical map: Illustrated Map of Historic Norfolk, Virginia, D.H. Smith, 1944.

The map illustrates the waterways and historic landscape of Norfolk before many areas were substantially altered by later development.

🌿Stay Informed with the Latest Updates in Resiliency Gardening

🌿Preparing Your Tidewater Yard for a Hurricane

Hurricane season is here, and if you live in Norfolk or anywhere in Hampton Roads, preparing your home shouldn't wait until a storm is headed our way.

Here in coastal Virginia, hurricane preparation isn't just about boarding up windows and buying bottled water. Flooding, storm surge, heavy rainfall, high winds and power outages can all affect our homes and neighborhoods.

And your yard matters, too.

The way we prepare our landscapes can help protect our property, reduce loose debris and make our yards more resilient to heavy rain.

The City of Norfolk's hurricane preparedness guidance boils preparation down to three simple ideas:

Get a Kit. Get a Plan. Stay Informed.

Here's how we can put those ideas into practice—inside and outside our homes.

Read the full article here. 

How to secure a rain barrel before a Hurricane or Tropical Storm

Rain barrels are great for conserving water—but during hurricane season, they need to be secured just like your patio furniture and garden containers.

Read the full article here. 

Here comes the rain! And... the mosquitoes!

 

How BTI Can Help Control Mosquito Larvae Naturally

 

 

After a big summer rain, our yards can quickly become mosquito nurseries.

A little standing water in a plant saucer, clogged gutter, bucket, birdbath, rain barrel, or low spot can be enough for mosquitoes to lay eggs. Within days, those tiny pools can become breeding grounds.

So what can you do when you can't dump the water?

That's where BTI comes in.

Read the full article here.

Rain Barrels: A Simple Tool for a More Resilient Yard

 

When we think about preparing our homes for heavy rain, flooding, and summer heat, we don't always think about something as simple as a rain barrel.

 

 

But a rain barrel can do a lot more than provide free water for your garden. It can help slow stormwater, reduce pressure on drainage systems, conserve drinking water, and give your household an extra source of water when you need it.

For communities like ours in Tidewater Virginia, where heavy rain and flooding are increasingly part of the landscape, capturing rain where it falls is a small action that can make a meaningful difference.

 

Read the full article here. 

Just Survived a Hampton Roads Downpour? 10 Things to Do in Your Yard This Weekend

 

Weekend Post-Storm Yard Cleanup: A Hampton Roads Checklist

 

 

After a big Hampton Roads storm, it's tempting to grab a rake, empty everything, cut everything back, and make the yard look “clean” again.

But after heavy rain, your landscape actually needs something a little different.

The goal isn't to make your yard spotless. It's to help water move, prevent mosquito breeding, protect your soil, and preserve the small habitats that help your garden thrive.

Here are 8 things to check this weekend after a major rain.

 

Read the full article here. 

🌿Rain Gardens: Helping Norfolk Manage Too Much Water—and Make Better Use of the Rain We Get

Too much rain. Not enough rain.

It can seem like Norfolk is constantly dealing with one or the other.

A heavy summer storm can leave water pooling in yards, rushing down streets, and flowing toward storm drains. Then, after stretches without enough rainfall, our gardens and landscapes can begin to dry out.

So what if part of the answer isn't trying to get rid of rain as quickly as possible?

What if we could slow it down, let more of it soak into the ground, and put our yards to work?

That's where rain gardens—and the native plants growing in them—can make a difference.

Read More Here. 

We promote practical solutions such as:

  • Rain gardens that capture and filter stormwater

  • Rain barrels that reduce runoff during storms

  • Native plants that improve soil absorption

  • Tree canopies that slow the rain hitting the streets

  • Permeable landscaping techniques

  • Community education about stormwater solutions

Please check out our Recommended Products and Retailers below. 

Every yard can become part of a larger network of protection.

🌿Resiliency Resources

Rain Garden Starter Guide

Want to reduce flooding, improve water quality, and create habitat for pollinators? Rain gardens capture and filter stormwater runoff before it reaches local waterways.

Resource provided by the Virginia Department of Forestry. All rights remain with the original publisher.

Native Rain Garden Plan

A simple rain garden plan complete with plant tips and planning ideas.