Arlington is hosting three events next week focused on flood mitigation and safety efforts.
The free events — which were planned in conjunction with the county’s new Flood Resilient Arlington program — come in the aftermath of July’s flash floods, which caused nearly $6 million in damage to county-owned property alone. Among the aims: to answer questions and provide tools for homes and businesses to minimize future flood damages.
“Recent localized flooding from intense short periods of rainfall now challenge parts of our stormwater system due to issues of capacity and limited overland relief,” the county wrote on its webpage dedicated to flooding information and the new resilience events. “Arlington is working toward flooding resilience through defining balance between private and public responsibility; scaling levels of flood protection and mitigation; and needs based investment.”
Two of the events are workshops for homeowners and business owners, addressing questions about who was eligible for flood insurance, what damages the policies cover and what kind of damage the county covers.
The first workshop will be held on Thursday, October 24, from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at Arlington Central Library (1015 N. Quincy Street) and the second will be on Saturday, October 26 from 10 a.m.-12 p.m. at George Mason University (3351 Fairfax Drive).
“The goal of the workshops is for homeowners and business owners to learn how to reduce their risk of flooding by hearing from experts in design, hazard mitigation and insurance,” said Peter Golkin, spokesman for Arlington’s Department of Environmental Services.
A third workshop called “How to Navigate Disaster in Business” will be held for business owners responding to a range of crises, including flooding as well as active shooters or fires. That event is scheduled on Wednesday, October 23, 2019 from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. at Arlington Economic Development (1100 N. Glebe Road).
“There will be more to come following these initial sessions,” added Golkin.