Storm & Flood Damage Recovery in Hampton, VA

That is the trend rather than your imagination. Land here is subsiding at the same time as the sea is rising, so the relative change is faster than on most of the coast. Flooding that once needed a storm now happens on high tides alone. Practically it means historical experience of a property understates future exposure, and decisions about what to keep at ground level should be made on where things are heading rather than where they have been.

That is tidal groundwater rather than runoff. The table beneath a lot this close to tidewater rises and falls with the tide, and on the higher tides it comes above the crawl space floor. Nothing crosses the surface, so grading and gutters have no effect. A crawl space drain with a pump, plus a sealed ground barrier, is the arrangement that manages it, and it will run on a tidal rather than a weather schedule.

In this specific location the arithmetic favors it more than in most places, because the exposure increases over time rather than staying flat. A heating system, water heater, or electrical panel at the lowest level will be reached eventually, and each event costs both the equipment and the weeks without it. Raising them once is a one-time cost against a recurring and growing risk.