Tidal flooding from hurricanes and northeasters has long shaped Norfolk’s relationship with the sea. In 1693, the Royal Society of London reported a violent storm in Virginia that stopped the course of ancient channels and created others where none had existed before. Hurricanes in 1749 and 1806 formed the Willoughby Spit section of Ocean View, and a hurricane in August 1933 killed 18 people. In March 1962, the Ash Wednesday Storm, a massive, slow-moving northeaster, struck the city and caused widespread destruction along the entire East Coast. By the early 1970’s, permanent flood protection for downtown had been constructed, including this storm water pump station and adjacent floodwalls to protect low-lying downtown areas from tidal flooding. Large steel doors at various points allow passage through the wall but are periodically closed when tidal flooding is anticipated. Beneath City Hall Avenue, once a canal, a large box culvert collects storm water runoff from downtown and carries it to a sump beneath the pump station, where trash and debris are removed before the water is pumped into the river.