The Middle Peninsula, as well as the state as a whole, escaped much of the wrath of Hurricane Florence over the weekend.

The storm, which came ashore Friday as a strong Category 1 storm near Wilmington, North Carolina, was at one time predicted to take a similar path as Hurricane Isabel in 2003. That storm ravaged much of this area in 2003, causing extensive tidal flooding, uprooted trees and left many residents without power for weeks.

Emergency managers in both Gloucester and Mathews reported no damage from Florence. However, with Gov. Ralph Northam calling for a mandatory evacuation of low-lying portions of both counties last Monday, schools, some post offices and businesses were shut down for much of last week.

“Gloucester County was fortunate to not have sustained impacts from Hurricane Florence such as what were experienced in areas farther south,” said Brett Major, Gloucester’s emergency management coordinator. “Rainfall and storm tides in our area were less than what were initially predicted if that storm had had a closer approach, and the tides were less than those experienced during the previous weekend.”

Major said he had received no reports of damage from the storm as of Monday morning. However, he encouraged any residents or businesses that did sustain storm-related damage to contact the Gloucester Building Official’s office during regular business hours at 804-693-2744.

Willie Love, Mathews County’s emergency services coordinator, also said he had not received any reports of damage from Florence as of Monday.

He said he had been keeping a watchful eye on the storm since the time it threatened landfall. Love, along with other county and state officials, kept in constant contact during the threat to make sure the county and its residents were prepared for whatever was to come.

He said last Monday’s “King Tide” caused more tidal flooding issues than Florence. “I saw more water lying around last Monday than with this event,” Love said. “This was nothing more than what many county residents deal with on a pretty regular basis.”

With the impending threat of Florence, Gloucester officials were prompted to open an emergency shelter at Peasley Middle School at Sassafras last Thursday. However, the shelter, which opened that day at 9 a.m., was closed by 3 p.m. as the threat lessened and the number of people using it was minimal.

According to Christi Lewis, Gloucester County spokesperson, five people came to the shelter during the short time it was open—along with five cats, two dogs, two birds and a guinea pig. Lewis said approximately a dozen volunteers were on hand to assist. Members of the Citizen’s Emergency Response Team helped with the animal portion of the shelter while members of the Medical Reserve Corps helped coordinate the portion of the shelter that housed residents.

Mathews County officials had decided to open a shelter at the YMCA building at Hudgins, but announced last Wednesday afternoon that since the hurricane’s path changed, they would not open the shelter.

Residents of Riverside Convalescent Center in Mathews were relocated to other nearby facilities in advance of the storm. The facility is located in Zone A; Northam’s order called for a mandatory evacuation of Zone A residents.

By Friday afternoon, Northam had lifted the mandatory evacuation order, allowing schools to resume normal schedules on Monday. State-maintained hurricane shelters, which were housed at Christopher Newport University in Newport News and the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, were closed shortly after the order had been lifted.

By Monday, as rains from the remnants of Florence poured across the western part of Virginia, officials with the Virginia Department of Transportation advised motorists to continue to exercise caution. According to VDOT spokesperson Shannon Marshall, motorists are particularly urged to avoid travel to and through North Carolina because of flooding affecting major routes and detours in many parts of the state.

Post offices closing

Kim Frum, senior public relations representative for the U.S. Postal Service, said the closure of the post offices in the evacuation zone was necessary for the safety of both USPS employees and customers.

“The safety of our employees is always our top priority and much of (Mathews and parts of Gloucester) were under mandatory evacuation orders,” Frum said. “Based on the evacuation orders, the information we had on Hurricane Florence’s projected path, and the potential for flooding, we determined temporary changes were necessary to ensure the safety and well-being of our employees, as well as the thousands of consumers living in the affected zone.”

Frum said, “We appreciate the understanding and patience of the community and are pleased normal operations have resumed.”

Nursing home evacuation

With the Hurricane Florence Zone A evacuation notice for the state of Virginia, residents of Riverside Convalescent Center Mathews had to be evacuated to higher ground, according to Riverside spokesperson Shannon Fedors. Throughout last Tuesday and Wednesday, team members at Mathews came together and moved their 60 residents to other Riverside facilities in the surrounding area.

According to Fedors, 25 members of the team went to the accepting facilities to help care for the Mathews residents while they were at each facility. They stayed nearby to assist in care. “There was great support and cooperation throughout Riverside Health System to ensure resident safety and comfort,” she added.

During the evacuation period, other team members stayed in the Mathews facility 24/7 even after residents were evacuated to be sure there were no issues or problems.

“All residents were moved back safely to the Mathews facility on Sunday [Sept. 16] and are sharing stories of their ‘mini-vacations’ and how they were treated as family at the evacuation facilities,” Fedors said. “One resident staying at Patriots Colony gave the staff a handwritten note that read, ‘Thanks to staff and activities director for treating us like family.’ Some are even talking about the new friends they met during their evacuation stay, but all were glad to get back to their home in Mathews.”