page_title: Hurricane Gaston (2004)
section_title: Virginia
hierarchical_section_title: Hurricane Gaston (2004) / Impact / Virginia
caption_attribution_description: English: This section of E. Grace Street, Richmond, VA, collapsed during tropical storm Gaston. Gaston dropped twelve inches of rain in the area.
context_page_description: Hurricane Gaston was a minimal hurricane that made landfall in South Carolina on August 29, 2004. It then crossed North Carolina and Virginia before exiting to the northeast and dissipating. The storm killed nine people – eight of them directly – and caused $130 million in damage. Gaston produced torrential downpours that inundated Richmond, Virginia. Although originally designated a tropical storm, Gaston was reclassified as a hurricane when post-storm analysis revealed it had maximum sustained winds of 75 mph.
context_section_description: As the storm tracked northward through Virginia as a tropical depression, it produced torrential rainfall, peaking at 12.60 in (320 mm) in Richmond. The storm strengthened over Virginia, as it pivoted from a northerly track to a northeasterly track nearly over the Richmond area, which led to the afternoon of exceptional rainfall, with the epicenter over Richmond. There were also numerous reports of rainfall over 10 in (250 mm), primarily in the central portions of the state. The heavy precipitation caused moderate to severe damage in Chesterfield, Dinwiddie, Hanover, Henrico, and Prince George counties, where 350 homes and 230 businesses were damaged or destroyed, and many roads were closed due to high water. Hanover, Virginia reported almost a foot of rain, 11.7 inches to be exact. The heaviest-hit location was downtown Richmond, where 20 blocks of the city were under water. In the historic district, a brick building collapsed and dozens of other structures received flood damage as water reached 10 ft (3.0 m) in some places. It is estimated that 29 homes were declared uninhabitable.
  At the Richmond battlefield, a foot of standing water left $32,500 (2004 USD) in damage. Rushing water floated automobiles and crashed them into buildings in some parts of the city. Also, over 120 roads were closed within Richmond, with several more in other areas. The stretch of Interstate 95 in the city was closed as flash flooding caused 20 traffic accidents. An intersection was closed due to a 30 ft (9.1 m) crest as a result of flowing underground water. Along the James River, swift–water rescues were required to bring people who were stranded in their cars to safety. Additionally, at least 1,000 people were forced from their homes. In total, damage from flooding in the city totaled to over $20 million (2004 USD) and nine people were killed, eight directly.
  Gaston touched off numerous tornadoes in the state. In all, 19 tornadoes were confirmed in Virginia. These were mostly weak, commonly ranking F0 or F1 on the Fujita Scale. Damage from the tornadoes was mostly minor, and typically limited to fallen trees and light structural damage. A tornado in Hopewell downed 25–30 trees and damaged a shed. Also, an F0 tornado in Nottoway County tore metal roofing off the roof of a church.
caption: This section of E. Grace Street in Richmond washed out as a result of the heavy rainfall.
exif: {"Image ImageDescription": "Richmond VA, September 5, 2004 -- This section of E. Grace Street collapsed during tropical storm Gaston. Gaston dropped twelve inches of rain in the area.  Photo by: Liz Roll/FEMA News Photo", "Image Make": "NIKON CORPORATION", "Image Model": "NIKON D100", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "300", "Image YResolution": "300", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop 7.0", "Image DateTime": "2004:09:16 13:52:46", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image ExifOffset": "460", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "1178", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "4830", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/250", "EXIF FNumber": "8", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0220", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2004:09:05 08:29:27", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2004:09:05 08:29:27", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "4", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "18/5", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF LightSource": "Unknown", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire", "EXIF FocalLength": "24", "EXIF SubSecTime": "80", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "80", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "80", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "Uncalibrated", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "1800", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "1200", "EXIF RelatedSoundFile": "", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF CVAPattern": "[0, 2, 0, 2, 1, 0, 2, 1]", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "1", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "36", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF GainControl": "None", "EXIF Contrast": "Soft", "EXIF Saturation": "Normal", "EXIF Sharpness": "Normal", "EXIF SubjectDistanceRange": "0"}