THIS WAS "US" OVER THE LAST 24 HOURS

[MalahatTwo7]

Portion Of Beltway Reopens After Flooding. Serious Flooding In Md. Spurs State Of Emergency

POSTED: 6:18 pm EDT June 25, 2006
UPDATED: 7:37 am EDT June 26, 2006

ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- A portion of the Beltway in northern Virginia has reopened at Telegraph Road in Alexandria after being closed due to flooding.

Heavy rains Sunday night led to Cameron Run rising over the bridge that crosses over it. Officials initially said they were concerned with the structural integrity of the roadway. But a VDOT spokesperson later said that did not seem to be the case.

Crews are working to clean all of the mud, silt and debris from the roadway. Outer Loop lanes of the Beltway reopened at Telegraph Road at about 7:15 a.m. A VDOT representative said two Inner Loop lanes would be open by 7:30 a.m.

From Maryland, all traffic on the Inner Loop is being diverted to Interstate 295 into the District. Coming from Maryland, drivers cannot get across the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, according to Metro Traffic's Jerry Edwards.

From Virginia, all Outer Loop traffic was being diverted north onto Interstate 395.

Elsewhere, Route 29 is closed in both directions between Route 650 and University Boulevard. Montgomery County police said the road will not be open until after rush hour.

Visit Our Traffic Section for more updates on area road closures.

VRE Service Canceled, Metro Affected

Virginia Railway Express canceled service Monday morning on both the Fredericksburg and Manassas lines.

A VRE spokesman said that decision was made because of flooding and trees down on the tracks.

There's no decision yet abot VRE service the rest of the day.

Flooding has closed the Archives and Federal Triangle Metro stations.

Bus shuttles are operating between Metro Center and Smithsonian stations and between Gallery Place and L'Enfant Plaza.

Amtrak Update

Morning trains have been canceled between Philadelphia and Washington along the Northeast Corridor due to high water and washout conditions along tracks in the Washington area. Amtrak said service has also been temporarily disrupted south of Washington.

Early morning trains between Washington and Philadelphia have been canceled. Amtrak says limited service north of Washington is expected to resume as conditions improve. Delays are expected between Washington and Baltimore.

Amtrak service south of Washington is currently canceled due to washout conditions.

MARC Service Update

MARC commuter train service is running only between Baltimore and New Carrollton.

Service on the Camden Line has been shut down.

IRS Headquarters Closed

The IRS headquarters on Constitution Avenue in downtown Washington is closed Monday because of flooding in the basement.

The building is expected to be reopened tomorrow.

On Sunday night there was massive flooding along Constitution Avenue between 9th and 14th streets. Numerous cars were submerged and drivers were stranded.

Serious Flooding In Md. Spurs State Of Emergency

About a foot of heavy rain overnight caused serious flooding Sunday in northern Dorchester and southern Caroline counties on Maryland's Eastern Shore, washing out roads and forcing some residents to be evacuated from their homes.

Flooding In Montgomery County

Federalsburg Mayor Betty Ballas declared an emergency for Federalsburg, a southern Caroline County town of about 2,600 people, at about 8:15 Sunday.

Keith Nagel, the chief of police in Federalsburg, said low-lying areas in the town were flooded Sunday morning, and about 30 people were evacuated. However, by Sunday afternoon some were being allowed to return to their homes as the water began to recede.

Nagel said there were still concerns about the possibility of rising water in some areas, but not much more rain was expected. It was unclear how much damage the flooding caused.

Caroline County Sheriff's Sgt. Ron Dixon spent the day helping evacuate Federalsburg residents from their homes. He said the heavy rain had stopped by early afternoon, and the water had subsided a great deal by 5 p.m.

“I don't think there's been any panic," Dixon said. "Everyone understands it's better to err on the side of caution."

Billy Hepperle was helping his parents clean up Mom & Pop's Place, the pool hall and bar they own on Main Street. He said water ran down a hill across the street from the bar and through the front door, but he expected the bar, which is closed Sundays, to be open for business on Monday.

"We got lucky because a lot of stuff didn't get damaged, just some carpet around the bar," Hepperle said.

Jeff Welsh, a spokesman for the Maryland Emergency Management Agency, said there were reports of 4 to 5 feet of water in parts of northern Dorchester and southern Caroline County.

Welsh also said that a spillway in Galestown near the Delaware state line was at risk of giving way, but he said no one would be in danger if the spillway gave. Welsh said the Maryland Department of the Environment was sending engineers to inspect it.

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources sent boats to assist in rescue operations if necessary, Welsh said.

Mike Zeigler, an assistant director of the Maryland Emergency Management Agency, said there were some evacuations in the Galestown area of Dorchester County.

A Maryland National Guard UH-60 helicopter has been deployed to survey flooded areas on the Eastern Shore.

First Sgt. Russell Newell, a spokesman for the Maryland State Police, said at least 20 Dorchester County roads were closed.

He said Route 307, a state road, has been completely washed out in a large section down to the gravel. He said the road will have to be completely rebuilt in order to be used again.

"It is quite a serious situation," he said. "There's a lot of roads that have been disabled due to heavy rains and flooding."

In Seaford, Del., Amy Walls, a spokesperson for the city, said between 10 and 15 people were evacuated from homes in an area known for flooding. She also said flooding has caused some cars to get stuck at intersections, and city officials were urging people to stay off the streets.

Federalsburg received between 10 and 12 inches of rain overnight. Nagal said a command post had been set up at the town's firehouse. The Red Cross was on hand to help.

Copyright 2006 by nbc4.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

It was bad enough that the Co went into Condition 3, and requested additional staffing from vol units and call takers for the Disptatch Centre. The sky started falling (for real LOL) around 10 pm, and continued until well 3 am. There has been some fairly significant flooding in and around the District too.

[hwoods]

Rick, glad to hear you folks are OK over there. We've been through (at least I hope we're through) flooding that I haven't seen since the mid 60's. One call at about 2 am was typical of the night, an intersection with 5 cars stalled in 3 feet of water. We ( Heavy Rescue with a crew of 4, BLS Ambulance with 3, myself as the Chief) removed 4 people from the water, a few others got out on their own prior to our arrival. Seems that we did this over and over, people just don't understand that automobiles do not function well when submerged in muddy water. If there is any good news, there have been no fatalities (that I know of) and thankfully there is no wind since the ground is so saturated that trees would be blown over very easily. More rain is forcast and we continue under flood watches and warnings for at least the next two days. Stay Tuned.......

[Dalmatian190]

Does anyone know how the electric / hybrid cars react when driven into 3' deep water ????

[Lewiston2FF]

Does anyone know how the electric / hybrid cars react when driven into 3' deep water ????

I attended a seminar by Toyota. The presenter said that the cars are set to shut down any time there is a voltage leak from the high voltage lines. He specifically mentioned if the car were driven into a lake. I would think this would cover the 3' of water too.

[hwoods]

I attended a seminar by Toyota. The presenter said that the cars are set to shut down any time there is a voltage leak from the high voltage lines. He specifically mentioned if the car were driven into a lake. I would think this would cover the 3' of water too.

Of course, that is assuming that the lake is 3' deep....... We have a lake here, but the depth varies....... As a side note, you should have seen the looks on peoples faces when they heard that they only had a 10% chance (or less) of getting anything from their insurance carrier, AND that they could be ticketed by the Police as well. Priceless.

[Diane E]

My commute was two hours door to door...And most of that 2 hours was me standing in a Penn line MARC train car (the Camden line is down and out -- "due to downed trees, flooding, signal problems and stopped freight trains") and then an orange line Metro car... I still made it to work before 9! But I missed my morning nap since I can't sleep standing up.

[voyager9]

I love how drivers overestimate their car's ability to float.

They'll come up on a flooded roadway with 3 other cars stalled out in it and showhow think that even though that Ford F250 couldn't make it though that their Honda Civic will get through just fine.

Or (more likely) they're so busy talking in their cell phone, reading the paper, and washing their hair that they probably don't even notice.

Makes me want to go back to Horses, at least then someone smart was at the controls.

[MalahatTwo7]

My commute was two hours door to door...And most of that 2 hours was me standing in a Penn line MARC train car (the Camden line is down and out -- "due to downed trees, flooding, signal problems and stopped freight trains") and then an orange line Metro car... I still made it to work before 9! But I missed my morning nap since I can't sleep standing up.

I heard about that on the radio this morn too. Makes me glad that I don't commute that way, although I could easily have been "caught" on METRO, at either L'Effant Plaza or Metro Centre, here in the City......

Hmmmm you say "Orange Line".... where to?

[MalahatTwo7]

Afternoon email:

Issued at: 11:09 AM EDT 6/26/06, expires at: 5:00 PM EDT 6/26/06

The NWS in sterling virginia has issued a flash flood warning for:

district of columbia in district of columbia montgomery county in central maryland prince georges county in central maryland arlington county in northern virginia city of alexandria in northern virginia city of fairfax in northern virginia city of falls church in northern virginia fairfax county in northern virginia

Until 500 pm edt At 1100 am edt, national weather service doppler radar indicated moderate to heavy showers over the Washington metropolitan areas lifting to the northeast at 20 mph. Additional showers are seen on radar over central virginia and southern maryland which will move over the same area throughout the afternoon.

Do not drive your vehicle into areas where the water covers the roadway. The water depth may be too great to allow your car to cross safely. Move to higher ground.
Lat, lon 3886 7748 3867 7721 3872 7700 3886 7675 3909 7685 3918 7705 3929 7721

Do not drive your vehicle into areas where the water covers the roadway. The water depth may be too great to allow your car to cross safely

Do ya think?!

[Diane E]

Hmmmm you say "Orange Line".... where to?

I got off at South Capitol. Normally, I take MARC straight in to Union Station and walk to my office.

[DennisTheMenace]

30 calls last night for our Utility alone.

[martinm]

We've had similar flooding in my area, although not this year,(so far). I always smile when I'm at work and we begin to get calls of cars stuck in floodwater after a conversation I heard between the driver of a vehicle and one of my callhandlers:

Police dispatcher, "so you drove your car past the sign saying "flood?"

Driver: "Erm, yes, thats right".

PD: "and now your vehicle is stuck in the floodwater?"

Driver: "Yes, correct".

PD: "I assume you know it probably won't be driveable when its recovered....?"

[DeputyChiefGonzo]

Does anyone know how the electric / hybrid cars react when driven into 3' deep water ????

It amazes me how many "wannabee" U-Boat commanders are out there!

[MalahatTwo7]

I got off at South Capitol. Normally, I take MARC straight in to Union Station and walk to my office.

That makes you pretty close to where I am during the day. That and I wander through the Mall pretty much everyday (except today LOL) at least once and usually twice a day now that the weather is cooperative - well mostly anyhow heheehhee.

[hwoods]

Just got in from another one. Guy drove off the end of a bridge into the water which was about 5 feet deeper than he thought. We used a rigid bottom inflatable boat with a pretty hefty outboard to reach the tree where he was hanging on. Successful grab once again, and everybody goes home. Except the guy's vehicle, which was last seen heading South in the main current of the river. Side Note: Rick, Fox5 covered it pretty well, be on at 22:00 tonight.

[MalahatTwo7]

Ok. I'll try and catch it. I heard you guys were busy earlier today too. Been ehll on wheels here, from what I saw of the trucks racing around when I came home. Nothing has been paged out recently though - is that a good thing? LOL

Play safe out there!

[ffemtPAJ]

Glad to hear you are safe and no fatalities so far. I lived in Fairfax for 3 years in my early twenties and I know that traffic is a nightmare even without Mother Nature's input. I guess I feel compelled to admit that I once drove into deep water after a water main break in FFax. I was 19 and had an old Buick I was sure could make it. Luckily, after I got stuck, a big tractor trailer came through and the wake it created was enough to push me to higher ground. Surprisingly enough, the car worked just fine after that. Guess there wasn't much to an 81 Buick Skylark that water could hurt! Oh to be young and stupid!

[DonSmithnotTMD]

I was wondering about you guys. Glad everything is OK. Looked like some "fun" times on the news.

did I hear right that PG had 34 grabs on Monday morning?

[DennisTheMenace]

Gonna be busier tonight when all the water in the hills hits the river right at high tide.

[MalahatTwo7]

Hmmm ya. Good point there, Dennis.

As we would say during a shipborne battle exercise: "Brace for Shock!"