Courtesy Photo | Water pours into Dry Dock 2 during the Ash Wednesday Storm March 7, 1962. The train...... read more read more
Natural disasters can happen anytime. In recognition of National Preparedness Month, take a look back through some of Norfolk Naval Shipyard’s (NNSY) history when nature’s fury bore down and the difference preparation made.
While hurricanes are what many in Hampton Roads would think of when it comes to disastrous weather, the infamous Ash Wednesday storm of March 1962 is a reminder that these events can happen any time of the year. Immediately after a heavy snowfall that left the yard covered in drifts, a perfect storm of steady northeast wind combined with an exceptionally high spring tide and caused the waters of the Elizabeth River to rise almost nine feet above the average low tide.
The divide between river and land vanished beneath the rising waters to such a degree that structures such as Building 74 appeared to rise from the brackish depths. The unexpected combination of weather and tide caught the shipyard unprepared, and the waters surrounded Dry Dock 2 before cascading down the stone blocks to where USS JOHN R PERRY (DE-1034) sat moored. In the space of time between the high tides, sandbags were laid along the edge of the dry dock, but still the water poured in.
It was a very different situation almost a decade before when Hurricane Barbara came to shore in 1953. Over nine inches of rain came down in only 24 hours according to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration records. With warning of the storm’s approach, civilian and military personnel alike took on the massive undertaking of preparing 50,000 sandbags with 5,300 laid down to surround Dry Dock 1. Careful planning was credited for the shipyard’s emerging from that storm with no damage to buildings or equipment.
In more recent history, the shipyard provided safe haven for vessels of the Atlantic Fleet unable to get underway during Hurricane Bonnie of 1998 and Hurricane Isabel in 2003. Sometimes, the schedule of avails for a Navy warship means being at NNSY for multiple storms. USS NASSAU (LH4) faced Hurricane Floyd in 1999 and then Hurricane Isabel four years later. In both storms, the work of the waterfront workforce making preparations against the storm was credited to repairs staying on schedule and the prevention of damage that would have caused delays.
Preparedness has also been knowing where to find assistance when needed is, and providing it when possible. During Hurricane Floyd, the Army Water Unit from Fort Story in Virginia Beach provided water to the shipyard when the city of Portsmouth could not due to complications from the storm. A few years later, it was NNSY who answered when Sentara Leigh hospital put out a call for help when Hurricane Isabel took down commercial power and two of the three back up generators had failed.
When natural disasters strike, it is not one place affected, but entire communities. Being prepared helps prevent damage that takes time and resources away from helping others in need and keeps the ships on schedule.
| Date Taken: | 09.01.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 09.08.2023 13:48 |
| Story ID: | 452995 |
| Location: | PORTSMOUTH, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 230 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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