Petersburg salon owner ‘overwhelmed’ but ‘blessed’ after this week’s flooding

PETERSBURG, Va. (WRIC) -- Some in Petersburg, especially in the Old Towne neighborhood, continue to clean up after this week's heavy downpours. This includes Amy Crump, who owns Salon Blis, continues to run her business on the edge of the possibility of more floods.

Meanwhile, the city is hoping its latest flooding will inspire the state to continue helping.

As of noon on Wednesday, July 16, Petersburg is still under a state of emergency after flooding closed roads, submerged a vehicle and evacuated apartment buildings. W. Bank Street was among the hardest hit areas where Salon Blis is located.

Petersburg officials say one of the biggest challenges is the city's dated drainage infrastructure. During a press conference on Tuesday, July 15, Mayor Samuel Parham said he hopes these floods will show how badly updates are needed.

Meanwhile, Gov. Glenn Youngkin's office is sending unspecified resources to help dry out and clean up.

Some who are feeling the effects in Old Towne have butted sandbags against their building's doors, including Crump who has owned Salon Blis for eight years.

There's still sand and mud on the salon floors as the business remains open. However, the flooding knocked out the air conditioning.

Recalling catastrophic flooding in the past -- including in Texas this summer -- Crump calls herself "blessed" that this week's flooding was not any worse.

"First, I was overwhelmed, I think just taking it in and kind of processing, but I talked with my friend that works with me, and we just looked at each other and were like, 'okay, if this is the worst, we'll take it.' Just praying that the city and everything can get together and we can figure out how to manage this problem because this is definitely not something I want to wake up to again tomorrow or whenever we have another bad rainstorm." Amy Crump

Many residents and business owners like Crump are left to pick up any messes from a couple nights ago and brace for more possible flooding coming soon.