ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Heavy rain is headed towards much of the DMV Friday, but residents of Old Town Alexandria saw some sunny day flooding during high tide Thursday.
As high tide crept into the city of Alexandria, water filled the streets and threatened to seep into some businesses. Along Prince Street and The Strand, most businesses are slightly above sea level, and several owners said they weren't overly worried about the threat of heavy rain coming Friday, or the temporary rise in water Thursday.
Restaurant workers noted that flooding is commonplace for the neighborhood, so they're always ready for it.
“In the fall it’s really thereto four times a month," Big Wheel Bikes employee Bennett Moore said.
Moore has seen his fair share of flooding over the years.
"For me, it’s old hat just because I’ve seen it come and go for 20 years now," he said.
Bike Wheel Bikes survived flooding hurricane Isabel in 2003. Because the bike shop he works at is raised, they don’t tend to worry about flooding, but Moore said it does impact the number of customers they see in a day.
“It’ll slow down traffic," he said. "They block the road off so we don’t really get any drive-up traffic. We get foot traffic if they park far away."
The City of Alexandria launched a Flood Mitigation Grant Program businesses could apply for earlier this year. According to the city’s website, the pilot program will provide up to 50% of the total costs of the measure(s) and associated costs, up to a maximum amount of $5,000. City leaders say they’ve gotten an overwhelming response.
On Friday, Moore is hoping it’s just another rainy day in Old Town.
“It would have to be the perfect storm, hurricane to get in the store,” he said.
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