Governor reports on Sandy impacts

Superstorm Sandy began affecting portions of the Commonwealth late Saturday, and snow and rain associated with the system continue in parts of the state.

During the storm, winds gusted to 60mph in both  Roanoke and Arlington and to 68 mph at Wallops Island, nearly 10 inches of rain was recorded in the Pungo area of Virginia Beach and on the Northern Neck, and 8.5 inches of snow fell in Tazewell, with reports of higher amounts in many elevated areas of western and southwestern Virginia.

In addition, high water led to the National Guard transporting citizens to shelters on the Eastern Shore. Sadly, the storm was responsible for two fatalities in Central Virginia.

Despite those figures, Sandy’s impact in the Commonwealth was far less than originally anticipated. As of 1 p.m. Tuesday, power outages are down to 114,000 customers statewide, which is a much smaller number than expected. Most regions of the Commonwealth, outside of mountain areas experiencing lingering snow, will see weather conditions quickly returning to normal over the days ahead. Based on current conditions and what is anticipated for the aftermath of the storm, the Commonwealth is in a position to offer assistance to states that suffered far more damage.

On Tuesday, Gov. McDonnell spoke with President Obama to offer Virginia resources to ongoing recovery efforts in New Jersey, New York and other states. He has also personally communicated that offer to Gov. Chris Christie in New Jersey and Gov. Andrew Cuomo in New York. In addition, offers of assistance have been made to Connecticut and Delaware.

“I sincerely appreciate the cooperation we have seen from Virginians in every part of the state as we have gone through this severe weather event. Sandy was not as bad as we expected, but we still faced high winds, heavy rain and snow, and flooding. Virginians worked together to get through this storm, and looked out for one another,” McDonnell said.

“I thank our citizens for their efforts and their incredible generosity of spirit. I also want to, once again, thank our first responders, state agencies, local governments, private partners and volunteers for the tremendous work they have done.  There is still clean up to be done and we need to get power restored to the over 110,000 customers without it. We will get that done.  Virginia stands ready to help other states as they recover from a far more serious and destructive storm within their borders,” McDonnell said.