Newport News, Va. - It was a long and wet day for those who live in the City Line Apartments in Newport News.
“Oh it was scary,” says Nicola Carmichael, who lives at the complex. “When I saw the rain and the water start rising, I said `OK, let me start lifting things up.”
The parking lot off Mytilene Drive filled up with water, forcing many from their homes and others scrambling to get their vehicles to higher ground. Newport News Police say evacuation was never mandatory.
By eight Monday night, the water had receded but police still weren`t letting anyone drive back in.
“Right now the apartment is dry, it`s not wet thank God for that,” says James Paig, who was walking to grab a few things from his girlfriend’s apartment.
“Yeah you know just some little things for her and the baby, videos, stuff like that,” he says.
Unfortunately, flooding at the low-lying complex is nothing new.
Nicola Carmichael has lived in her bottom floor unit for ten years. She says it floods often, but knows when it gets bad enough that she’s forced to evacuate.
“When it gets to the second step then you start noticing it going towards the door, you've got to get out,” she says.
By 9:30 p.m. Monday police let folks back into the parking lot and back home.
“We was lucky today, but we aren`t always lucky,” Carmichael says.
