The 2025 Atlantic hurricane season officially began on June 1, and forecasters predict above-normal hurricane activity in the Atlantic basin this year. Are you ready for it?   

Arlington has at least 18 major surface waterways, as noted in a wonderful book written by Marty Suydam, entitled “Walk Four Mile Run.” The history of these waterways provides a lesson about the ever-present danger associated with the flooding of our waterways, with Four Mile Run being a particularly troublesome area. Hurricane Agnes in June of 1972, and Hurricane Eloise in September of 1975, caused severe damage to areas along Four Mile Run. In the September 1975 hurricane, the overflow from Hume Springs, along the Arlington/Alexandria border, was devastating, causing Cora Kelly School in Alexandria to be shut down for the remainder of the school year.  

Long-time Arlington civic activist Joe Pelton recently shared with me some memories of Hurricane Agnes, in an article entitled “How Hurricane Agnes Led to Today’s Shirlington Village.” Though the hurricane was downgraded to a tropical storm by the time it hit Virginia, the storm went through and then looped back over the metropolitan area, with over 11 inches of rain falling in a 24-hour period. Four Mile Run became a raging river that washed away the South Walter Reed bridge over Four Mile Run. Many parts of Arlington were flooded, and for a time the 14th Street Bridge into D.C. was under water.  

The Virginia Department of Transportation managed to move traffic over Walter Reed Drive, and into the Shirlington area, by creating a temporary one-lane bridge, which remained “temporary” for years. Fortunately, renewal of the area gained momentum in 1974 with a coordinated effort by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Virginia Department of Transportation, Arlington County, and the City of Alexandria.  

With help from Virginia House Delegate Warren Stambaugh, Congressman Joe Fisher, and County Board Chair Joe Wholey, a comprehensive flood control program for Four Mile Run was funded, planned, and completed by 1980. A new bridge was designed and built for Walter Reed Drive. Excavated rock from Metro construction was repurposed to create flood control rip-rap along the Run. Excavated rock was also used to build a decorative berm to screen the County Property Yard on Shirlington Drive, and larger boulders were used in landscaping Jennie Dean Park alongside Four Mile Run. The next time you are in that area, look for all the boulders – now you know where they came from! 

And what happened to the Shirlington area?  

The Shirlington Shopping Center was spiraling downward in 1974, with shops empty or reduced to selling remainders. The shopping center was developed in 1944 on a 23-acre site to provide for the shopping needs of the nearby residential developments. By 1949 there were 48 stores, and in 1951, there were 25 additional stores. The center declined during the 1970s because of the economic slump and growing competition from modern shopping malls.   

In response, the County Board enacted some revolutionary zoning laws (for that time), which we would call “mixed-use zoning”. The area has now been developed with a mix of residential and commercial uses, and with a new name: The Village at Shirlington.  

Fifty years after a couple of overpowering hurricanes, the flooding is under control, and the Village of Shirlington is doing well. But diligence and vigilance are always required when dealing with Mother Nature. As we approach the hurricane season, it is good to be prepared, as a community and as individuals. Are you prepared to deal with flooding in our region? One way to keep safe is to register for alerts from the County, which can be done by going online at arlingtonalert.com.  

Trivia: In closing, let me provide some hurricane-naming trivia. For Atlantic hurricanes, there are six lists of names to be used for hurricanes, which rotates over a six-year period. However, names are “retired” if a name is associated with costly and deadly hurricanes. Agnes and Eloise have been retired, never to be used again.