Politics & Government

Stormageddon In Review

City's relief effort from Aug. 5, 2010 storm cost just under $500,000.

One year ago last Friday, an afternoon storm carrying unexpected force entered Alexandria. Merciless winds sent trees and power lines into homes and roadways. Some residents went without electricity for days, while others were displaced for months.

It was dubbed “stormageddon,” a microburst of strong and isolated power that ravaged the neighborhoods of Beverley Hills, Del Ray, Rosemont and parts of Old Town, blocking more than 40 roadways in the city.

According to Alexandria’s finance office, the relief effort cost the city approximately $480,000. Residents had to dig into their pockets as well.

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“We were very fortunate that nobody was hurt,” said Yon Lambert, a deputy director with the city’s Department of Transportation and Environmental Services. “There were a few injuries, but the fact there were no fatalities associated with the storm was a fortunate thing.”

Lambert recalls heading into the streets the evening following the storm in an attempt to assess the damage. In the dark, it proved too difficult.

Find out what's happening in Del Raywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

He was in Beverley Hills the following morning when the reality of the damage came into view. Lambert said he marveled at the size of the trees that came down, “huge, old-growth trees” well into their second centuries.

“You could absolutely not get through Beverley Hills, Del Ray and parts of Old Town,” Lambert said. “It was really incredible.”

In the first night alone, Lambert said the city received more than 500 service requests for debris removal and to repair power lines.

“The fact that people were so patient while the city, Dominion and contractors responded to the storm, it allowed us to speed up the response and it helped Dominion get the power up more quickly,” Lambert said.

With close to 150 city workers and contractors working 12-hour shifts for a week straight, approximately 25,000 cubic yards of debris were collected and taken to the city’s mulch pile.

Lambert said the city relaxed its rules on trash collection, allowing residents to simply push all of their debris to the curb. The city took it all.

“The size of the debris pile, it was the equivalent of stacking everything in Market Square upwards of 25 feet high,” Lambert said.

After the storm, Lambert said city staff made some minor modifications to its procedures in dealing with storms. This year, prior to storm and hurricane season, city staff met again to discuss last year’s storm.

“We talk about it all the time and what we learned,” Lambert said. “We talk about things we did well and things we can do better.”


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