PETERSBURG, Va. — Nearly 10 inches of rain has caused widespread flooding in Petersburg, prompting city officials to declare a local state of emergency as residents and businesses deal with the aftermath.
The heavy rainfall that began Monday night flooded streets, businesses and homes throughout the city, from the entrance to old town and near the Appomattox River by Etrick.
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Petersburg Fire Department rescued nearly 50 people from a flooded apartment complex as waters rose to dangerous levels.
"I have never seen that much water as we've seen in the past two days," William Brooks said.
Brooks wasn't able to leave his apartment until Tuesday morning as floodwaters surrounded the building.
"Usually when it floods it's like this, but it was beyond this. The whole street the back yard everything was flooded," Brooks said.
Monday night's flooding was even more severe than what remained visible on Tuesday, with dramatic scenes throughout old town Petersburg.
"It's Mother Nature… You have to make the best of what you get," Brooks said.
Watch: Petersburg leaders update flood damage and plan
Mayor Sam Parham believes the flooding goes beyond natural causes, pointing to decades of infrastructure neglect.
"For 50 years we've been asking the core of engineers to do department dredging that needs to be done to open the harbor that leads to the Appomattox river and what we are seeing now are definitely the horrific effects of decades of neglect," Parham said.
According to Parham, the city needs to remove sediment, silt and other debris from the Appomattox River to create space for excess water to flow away from the city.
Petersburg City Manager March Altman identified funding as the primary obstacle to addressing these issues.
"The system cannot handle it and it just overwhelms it and it just backs up into the community," Altman said.
The financial requirements for fixing the city's infrastructure problems are substantial.
"We know it's going to be significant. We have individual projects that would be in the $2 to $3 to $5 million range. Just imagine multiplying that across the whole city," Altman said.
Mayor Parham has been in contact with Governor Youngkin's office to secure necessary support and funding to address Petersburg's infrastructure issues. The local state of emergency declaration is expected to help obtain assistance from state and federal sources.
Even with immediate help and short-term solutions for debris removal, Altman warns that comprehensive fixes will take considerable time.
"If we had all the resources necessary at our disposal, funding and everything, we're still looking at 10-20 years to address all the storm water needs in the community," Altman said. "It's decades worth of projects that have built up over time and now we need to address those and we're going to move forward with a positive plan to address those coming into the future."
This is a developing story. Email the CBS 6 Newsroom if you have additional information to share.
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