Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Tuesday, July 26, 1994                 TAG: 9407260350
SECTION: LOCAL                    PAGE: B3   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: BY KAREN E. QUINONES MILLER, STAFF WRITER 
DATELINE: NORFOLK                            LENGTH: Short :   46 lines

STORM CUTS POWER, FLOODS STREETS MORE THAN THREE INCHES OF RAIN FELL MONDAY AFTERNOON.

   A violent thunderstorm that rocked South Hampton Roads on Monday afternoon 
knocked out power to more than 10,000 customers, 8,200 of them in Norfolk.
   The outages, which occurred about 5:30 p.m., were caused by lightning, said
Patricia Gayle, a spokeswoman for Virginia Power.
   They were mainly in the areas of Industrial Park, Little Creek Road and 
Robin Hood Road in Norfolk, and Great Neck and Hilltop in Virginia Beach.
   Gayle said she was not sure whether lightning had struck a transformer or 
brought down trees on power lines.
   Service was restored to almost 3,000 customers by 9 p.m. Monday night. All 
service was expected to be restored by 2:30 a.m. today, she said.
   ``When there's an undetermined amount of lightning strikes, they've got to 
get out and start looking around before they can figure out exactly what the 
problem is and how to solve it,'' Gayle said.
   The storm originated over southeastern Virginia and lasted a couple of 
hours. More than 3 inches of rain fell at Norfolk International Airport, and 
Virginia Beach and Chesapeake received even more, according to the National 
Weather Service in Norfolk.
   Power outages were not the only inconvenience caused by the storm. Many 
streets in low-lying areas became temporary lakes. 
   Some residents of Ocean View complained they were trapped in their homes.
   ``Our back yard is flooded, our front yard is flooded, we can't get out the
house,'' said Tom Welch, of the 9500 block of 19th Bay St. ``There's a guy 
cruising up and down a main street in a small boat. At least he can get 
around. We can't.''
   Welch said that the area floods during every heavy rain. 


ILLUSTRATION: Photo
          JOHN C. BELL
          Children take a cool dip in the floodwaters along East Ocean View 
          Avenue. The water reached its high point between Inlet Avenue and 
          1st Bay Street.