Alexandria citizens were prepared for the two hurricanes that never came.
Last Friday morning, after heavy rains on Thursday night, Alexandrians were out getting free sand bags and free sand, preparing for more heavy rains and high wind from two Atlantic hurricanes. "We're getting ready for what could be serious flooding," said Mayor William D. Euille. "I had some flooding in my basement last night and we haven't even gotten the rains we are expecting from the two storms."
The flooding in the mayor's basement and water in the homes of some of his Del Ray neighbors was all there was. "We had some reports of flooding in Del Ray but not as many as we have gotten in the past," said City Engineer Emily Baker. "We think that the measures we have taken, including the installation of backflow preventers in some homes, have helped."
Those devices are supposed to keep water from backing up into homes from the old sewers throughout the Del Ray neighborhood. "Mine doesn't seem to be working as well as I had expected," Euille said.
The city distributed 1,050 sandbags on Thursday, Friday and Saturday and dumped 12 cubic yards of sand in a pile at 500 S. Union. "Some people preferred to make their own sandbags," said Barbara Gordon, a spokesperson for the city.
After Friday, however, there was no more rain. "We kept waiting for something to happen but thankfully Bonnie and Charley passed us by," Gordon said.