May 13, 2008 10:37 am US/Eastern
Storm Causes Road Closures, Power Outages
MARYLAND (WJZ/AP) ―
Some residens are cleaning up after heavy rain drenched the mid-Atlantic region, knocking out power to tens of thousands of customers, flooding roads and prompting evacuations.
Mary Bubala reports cars and even businesses are under several feet of water in Upper Marlboro near northbound Route 301 and Chrysler Drive.
About 4,600 homes and businesses in Maryland remain without power in the aftermath of Monday's storm.
That number includes more than 4,300 outages in the Baltimore Gas & Electric service area and about 240 in Pepco's service area in the Washington suburbs.
Dominion Electric is reporting 525 outages in Northern Virginia.
State Highway officials closed Route 301 Monday as the rain in Upper Marlboro only got heavier.
Most of the roads to get drivers out of Upper Marlboro were closed.
Several vehicles have been stranded, and ponds in the area have overflowed.
The water from those ponds is now flowing toward the Patuxent River.
Waters have reached four and five feet in the area.
Mike Schuh reports authorities said trees came down due to high winds and saturated soil in many parts of Maryland.
Numerous roads were closed because of high water, and firefighters reported receiving phone calls from stranded motorists who had to be rescued. One of those instances was in Gambrills in Anne Arundel County where a man had to be rescued from his car.
Kelly McPherson reports Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley said the state was bracing for more power outages and road closures up until midnight, as rain and strong winds were expected to continue.
Speaking at a news conference in Hanover, Md., O'Malley said tides 2 feet to 3 feet above normal were expected. However, he said he did not believe flooding would be as bad as it was during Hurricane Isabel in 2003, as at least one Somerset County official had suggested.
"The winds are actually working more to our favor than they were at that time," O'Malley said.
Still, the winds and rain were blamed for damage and injuries across the region.
Alex DeMetrick reports in Chesapeake Beach a man and woman were injured when high winds caused a house to collapse into a second home late Sunday. The injuries were not considered serious.
Along the Delaware coast, residents of several communities in Kent County were evacuated because of flooding. National Guard troop carriers capable of driving through 6 feet of water rescued residents trapped by the high water.
Closer to Washington, a sinkhole up to 30 feet wide and 10 feet deep led to the evacuation of three homes in Camp Springs, Md., Prince George's County fire department spokesman Mark Brady said. The porch of one home collapsed into the hole.
The National Weather Service has released rainfall totals from Monday's storm.
Up to 7 inches of rain fell in Calvert County, Md., and about 4 inches fell in the District of Columbia and northern Virginia from Sunday afternoon to Monday evening.
A flood warning was issued for the Potomac River in Fairfax County, Va., and Montgomery County, Md., until Tuesday evening.
(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
WJZ.COM's Most Popular Slideshows
