Days before Hurricane Florence was scheduled to make landfall, Mathews Court House residents already had their hands full with a significant flood on Main Street.
Late Sunday afternoon, motorists had to navigate several inches of standing water from the area in front of the Food Lion parking lot to Hyco Corner. By around 6 o’clock, the water had receded in the area.
VDOT spokesperson Kelly Hannon said that the recent construction of drainage in the area was designed to handle a 10-year storm event on Main Street and a 25-year storm event on Church Street.
On Sunday, 4.25 inches of rain, or the equivalent of a 50-year storm event, fell in around two hours, she said. This, coupled with a tide that was 2.5 to 3 feet higher than normal, contributed to slow drainage.
While the new construction was intended to increase the capacity of the drainage system and provide a more efficient path for rainwater to flow downstream, she said, it will not completely eliminate flooding during intens...