Roughly 2 million Virginians are without electricity and parts of southeastern Virginia face the possibility of serious flooding, Gov. Bob McDonnell said tonight.
McDonnell said storm surge could exceed 8 feet in some areas and localities along U.S. 460 already have gotten up to 16 inches of rain.
"This period of time right now and over the next couple of hours will be some of the most dangerous periods for Southeast Virginia with this storm," he said.
The governor expressed particular concern about the combination of strong winds and "astronomical high tide," which he said could push water up the James, Elizabeth, and Nansemond rivers.
"It's just bad timing with the winds at their peak at the same time as high tide," he said. "So storm surge is very dangerous."
The Richmond area is among the hardest hit in the state, with more people losing electricity than in Hampton Roads. McDonnell reported winds gusting as high as 71 miles per hour at Richmond International Airport at 6:20 p.m.
The governor authorized local governments to impose curfews for up to 48 hours, as Norfolk, Newport News and Hampton have done.
He and his staff begged people to remain in their homes, stay off the roads, and not try to deal with fallen trees in the dark because of the potential of live power lines.
Virginia State Police responded to 152 traffic crashes and 83 disabled vehicles, and handled more than 1,300 calls.
More than 3,900 people have gone to 74 emergency shelters in eastern Virginia, and 49 localities have issued local emergency declarations.
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