PETERSBURG, Va. — Petersburg officials will hold a press conference Thursday morning to address the city's state of emergency following unprecedented flooding that devastated the area this week.
Nearly 10 inches of rain fell between Monday and Tuesday, flooding streets, businesses and homes throughout Petersburg.
Longtime residents report they've never experienced flooding of this magnitude before.
Mayor Sam Parham and City Manager March Altman plan to discuss a decades-long effort to have the Appomattox River and its connecting channel dredged to prevent future flooding disasters.
"Over 50 years, we have been asking the Corps of Engineers to do the proper dredging that needs to be done to hope to open up the harbor channel, which leads to the Appomattox River, and what we are seeing now are definitely the horrific effects of the many decades of neglect," Parham said.
The mayor explained that removing sediment, silt and other debris from the Appomattox would provide space for excess water to flow out of the city rather than flooding populated areas.
City officials acknowledge that Petersburg likely lacks sufficient funding for these critical infrastructure projects.
"We know it's going to be significant. We have several individual projects now that would be in the $2 to $3 to $5 million range. Imagine multiplying that across the entire city," Altman said.
Petersburg officials have contacted Governor Glenn Youngkin's office seeking support and funding assistance for the necessary dredging work.
The press conference will be held at 9 a.m. at the Petersburg Transit Center.
This is a developing story. Email the CBS 6 Newsroom if you have additional information to share.
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