Governor declares state of emergency

By Rex Springston, Media General News Service
Published: September 4, 2008

RICHMOND - Tropical Storm Hanna could start dropping rain on the Richmond area tonight, but the heaviest dousing should come Saturday before noon, forecasters say.
Hanna could dump 2 to 3 inches in this region and 3 to 4 inches in southeastern Virginia, the National Weather Service said. Western Virginia would get less.
While the impending storm has shuffled high school football games locally, it has not yet changed this weekend’s NASCAR s race schedule at Richmond International Raceway.
The expected wind and rain amounts were lowered slightly yesterday evening from forecasts earlier in the day.
That happened in part because forecasters projected Hanna would hit North Carolina early Saturday as a tropical storm instead of as a hurricane.
Still, Hanna could cause some tidal flooding and possibly tornadoes in eastern Virginia, forecasters said.
Drought has damaged many trees’ roots, increasing the likelihood that Hanna’s winds could push those trees onto power lines, said Dan Genest, a Dominion Virginia Power spokesman.
“We’re taking it seriously,” Genest said.
Gov. Timothy M. Kaine asked Virginians to prepare for a serious storm but added that Hanna “should not be catastrophic.”
Kaine declared a state of emergency Thursday, a precaution that freed state agencies to respond quickly to troubles.
He said Virginians should be prepared to take care of themselves, without power, for three days. That involves stocking up on food, water and other supplies.
The state of emergency activated Virginia’s post-disaster price-gouging law for 30 days, Attorney General Bob McDonnell said.
Anyone who suspects price gouging as a result of the storm can report it to the state’s Office of Consumer Affairs at (804) 786-2042.
The rain could prove beneficial because most of Virginia either is abnormally dry or suffering from drought.
“Another good soaking rainfall certainly appears to be in store,” Weather Service meteorologist Bill Sammler said.
Hanna moved past the Bahamas yesterday with winds near 65 mph and was expected to head northwest today toward the United States.
After Hanna hits North Carolina tomorrow morning, it should move up eastern North Carolina and across eastern Virginia.
The storm should pass beyond Virginia to Delaware by early tomorrow evening, Weather Service meteorologist Lyle Alexander said.
Dorothy Toolan, a spokeswoman for Dare County, N.C., which includes most of the Outer Banks, said the barrier islands are expecting winds of 35 to 40 mph tonight and Saturday morning but no significant flooding or damage.
The storm is expected to dump about 2 inches of rain on the Outer Banks.
Toolan said county officials did not consider evacuating any of the roughly 60,000 people now on the Outer Banks, half of whom are tourists.
Amtrak said it was canceling most of today’s passenger trains through Richmond and would update the cancellation plan today.
Rex Springston is a staff writer at the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Staff writers Bill Geroux and Peter Bacque contributed to this report.