D.C. Under State Of Emergency; Md. Dam May Fail

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D.C. Under State Of Emergency; Md. Dam May Fail

Three days of heavy rain and the threat of more flooding have prompted District Mayor Anthony Williams to declare a state of public emergency. A spokeswoman for the mayor said the declaration was prompted by the potential loss of electricity and other adverse effects anticipated as a result of the wet weather.

The emergency declaration in the District allows the mayor to request assistance from the D.C. National Guard. It also clears the way for fast procurement of emergency supplies and actions to assist private property owners with emergency relief. The declaration is considered a first step toward seeking federal emergency disaster aid should that become necessary.

"What it does, in essence, is it gives us a lot more freedom to respond to this. It allows the mayor to tap into some resources the National Guard has, in terms of vehicles and manpower. It allows us a freer hand in determining to spend money to take care of trees that have fallen or deal with overtime or other costs that come up," said Vincent Morris, a spokesman for the mayor.

Mayoral spokeswoman Sharon Gang said the state of public emergency will remain in affect indefinitely.

"It seemed like something the mayor didn't want to wait a second longer on," Morris said.

Potential Lake Needwood Flooding Prompts Evacuations

The National Weather Service reported early Wednesday that Montgomery County officials have ordered a mandatory evacuation of about 500 people on the north side of Rockville.

The evacuation is prompted by the potential failure of an earthen dam on Lake Needwood in Rock Creek Regional Park.

Capt. Oscar Garcia, of the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Department, said residents of the Twinbrook, Viers Mill and Aspen Hills areas who live close to Rock Creek should be prepared to evacuate. He said a failure of the earthen dam could effect more than 100 homes.

Lake Needwood was formed along Rock Creek, and the dam is north of the Twinbrook, Viers Mill and Aspen Hills areas east of the city of Rockville.

Montgomery County officials have activated their emergency operations center, and personnel from several agencies are looking at the dam early Wednesday morning.

Fairfax Officials Investigate Flooding Severity

In Fairfax County, officials are investigating why Sunday night's flash flood was so devastating.

Heavy rains hit the Huntington Park section of Fairfax very hard. Fairfax County police went door to door Monday enforcing a mandatory evacuation, and some homes have already been condemned.

Neighbors said they know heavy rain caused the flooding, but that the Wilson Bridge Project made it worse.

In a statement released Tuesday, the Virginia Department of Transportation said that the several facts show that the flooding is unrelated to the Wilson Bridge Project. Among those facts are that Cameron Run's breach took place far upstream from any construction, records showed that never has so much rain fallen in a two-day period at nearby Reagan National Airport, and floodwaters exceeded the 100-year flood elevations in several locations for sustained periods of time.

"Our hearts go out to citizens whose homes and property were in the path of the flood, but the suggestion that the bridge project caused or contributed to the flood is misplaced," said project manager Ronaldo "Nick" Nicholson. "The relatively steep elevation of Cameron Run and the nature and distance of our downriver activities demonstrates that the flooding is unrelated to the Wilson Bridge Project."

News4's Julie Carey reported that many Huntington Park residents took a cleanup break Tuesday to attend a community meeting at Edison High School, where the Red Cross will keep a shelter open one more night. Fairfax County Supervisor Gerry Hyland said an investigation is open into what caused the unusual flooding. Hyland has asked Gov. Tim Kaine to order a review.

"I have no doubt that the governor will direct Mr. Nicholson to look into whether the bridge construction has caused or contributed to the flooding in this community," he said.

Anne Arundel County, Md., officials are asking residents to voluntarily evacuate parts of the Brock Bridge area of Maryland City because of the threat of flooding.

County Executive Janet S. Owens is urging all residents in the communities of Brockbridge Estates, Parkway Village Mobile Home Park and low-lying areas of Brockbridge Road to evacuate. She said residents should be proactive and leave as early as possible.

County officials said the National Weather Service is calling for 3 to 6 inches more of rain with high tides expected to be 2 to 3 feet above normal.

Laurel, Md., residents returned home late Tuesday morning after officials from the Emergency Operations Center went door to door in Prince George's County Monday night to alert people of a voluntary evacuation.

Because of heavy rains, the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission has opened floodgates at the Howard Duckett Dam along the Patuxent River, which could cause flooding, officials said. Authorities are monitoring the situation to determine if they must order mandatory evacuations.

Further upstream, water levels at the Brighton Dam have dropped, and officials said they hope the same will happen at Duckett, but the amount of rain that falls Tuesday and Wednesday could be a factor in that. Tuesday evening, the water level had stopped rising but had yet to retreat.

"Conditions at the Brighton Reservoir are that the levels are dropping, and we are cautiously optimistic that everything should stabilize just fine," said Laurel spokeswoman Carreen Koubek.

The Laurel Community Center served as a makeshift shelter during the voluntary evacuation and is ready in case further evacuations are necessary.

In the District, there were still traffic problems Tuesday morning because of the flooding. Part of Constitution Avenue is still closed except for Metrobuses.

Early Tuesday on South Capitol Street in Southeast near Malcolm X Avenue, the underpass was shut down while crews worked to pump out standing water.

Alexandria Residents Prepare For Possible Flooding

Residents and businesses in Alexandria, Va., are preparing for possible flooding. Some businesses on King Street have sandbags ready in case they need to stave off high water.

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Although the Potomac River is not expected to reach flood stage, Tuesday morning's high tide brought water over a section of King Street, prompting police to close the area. No buildings were flooded.

Bellview resident Marilyn Crandall said she was moving her belongings to higher ground in anticipation of a possible flood.

"I have two cats, and I had to get their cat boxes, their cat carriers, out. I wanted to get that kind of stuff set up, and then I'll look and see what else might be important," Crandall said.

Christine Mica, who was living in the area when Hurricane Isabel hit in 2003, already packed her belongings.

"Having to clean out the storage unit, the water was everywhere. We didn't have gas for a month, and we made it through all of that," Mica said.

Mindful of the high tide, Fairfax County officials called an emergency meeting with new Alexandria residents to make them aware of which areas would be most vulnerable to flooding.

"We just want to be sure we have everything in our basements out of the way, because in Bellview a lot of our basements are absolutely flooded. A lot of people lost a lot of things they had stored," said former condo association President Charles Schoff.

Emergency operations officials have set up a 24-hour command center ready to alert residents at the first sign of any hazardous flooding.

Virginia Department of Transportation officials said they still have about eight road closures around northern Virginia, down from 50 road closures earlier. They said they also have crews out repairing problems and looking out for possible hazards.

Government Operations Hampered By Flooding

The federal government was open Tuesday, but the Office of Personnel Management said employees could contact their agencies and request unscheduled leave for the day.

A lot of government workers got Monday off unexpectedly. Several federal buildings had to be shut down because of the flooding. Crews brought in dozens of sandbags to help contain all the water.

Several Smithsonian museums were also closed because of storm-related damage, along with the Justice Department, the Internal Revenue Service, the National Archives and the Commerce Department.

The National Archives building will remain closed through July 3 due to flooding and power outages but officials plan to be ready for the traditional July 4 celebration on the building's steps. All Archives materials are dry, but officials are concerned about humidity in the stack areas.

The main IRS building on Constitution Avenue will remain closed through Friday due to outages and flooding.

The National Museum of American History and the National Museum of Natural History will also be closed. The National Zoo is opening for pedestrians but is closed to cars in its parking lots. The National Gallery of Art was closed Tuesday and will be closed again Wednesday.

The main department of the Justice Building will be closed for the remainder of the week. Essential employees must report on time to their designated alternate work sites. Nonessential employees must report only if notified to their designated alternate work sites.

Commuter Concerns

Things were back to normal for Metro riders Tuesday morning after a frustrating day of flooding problems.

Commuters pushed and shoved each other to get onto buses Monday morning while much of the rail service was under water.

But by Monday night crews had cleared much of the mess.

MARC resumed regular rail service for commuters heading into Washington Tuesday morning and said its trains ran on time.

But the Virginia Railway Express won't be back to normal. VRE said most trains on the Manassas Line would be operating at restricted speeds due to the continued flood warning.

The Fredericksburg Line had limited service on an S schedule. Travelers were told to expect delays.

Amtrak said it ran a normal schedule Tuesday.

Rock Creek Parkway Closed

Rock Creek Parkway remained closed to motorists Tuesday because of waters pouring from Rock Creek. The parkway is open to pedestrians.

A number of people had to be rescued Sunday night when the water swamped their cars.

Crews spent Monday removing stalled cars and working to clear downed trees from the Parkway. Six cars got stuck in the water, and five have been removed.

"The National Park Service crews have been out since Sunday night," said Scott Fear of U.S. Park Police. "I mean, at midnight Sunday they were out for approximately 20 hours trying to get the Parkway cleaned up. ... They're working very hard to get this place open."

U.S. Park Police said the water has started to recede, but the reprieve may be temporary. Officials said Rock Creek Park will remain open to walkers and bikers for the duration, but with more rain in the forecast, Rock Creek Parkway will remain closed to motorists indefinitely.

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Onslow County Dam Woes
Heavy rain led to road erosion

Heavy rain and erosion are causing quite a stir in one county.

Jacksonville officials issued an advisory Tuesday afternoon for people who live downstream of the dam on Elizabeth Lake.

That's located in Jacksonville on Dewitt Street.

City officials say the dam could collapse sending a wave of water downstream toward dozens of homes.

“Come over here because it's a little safer on this side than that side.”

Eric Ransom was surprised to see his fishing grounds washed away.

"Needs some work," Ransom said about the street.

Like many people curiosity got the best of him and he wanted to know why a section of Dewitt Street was closed.

"We've seen it actually where they have had to come out and repair this road. It’s been eroded a little bit but it’s never been this bad," Ransom said.

Ransom is referring to this hole in the road which is built on top of a dam.  City officials say water from back to back heavy rain is rushing through the spill way causing erosion.

Officials had to close the street because more rain could lead to more erosion.

"The concern was people crossing this ditch here, they didn't want people to get in it because there is no way cars can pass through now," said Richard Koonce with the Jacksonville street division.

Richard Koonce works with the Jacksonville street division and cut an emergency spill way through the road to relieve pressure on the dam.

"I've never seen it this full that we have to cut a by pass so it can go through,” Koonce said.

Officials say they are most concerned about the people who live down stream from Elizabeth Lake. That's because if the dam breaks, rushing water could flood their homes.

"Anytime we get bad rain, this road should be shut down because that road washes over so often. But that is the worst I’ve seen the road go out on it," said Shannon Carpenter, who lives near the dam.

For now, they are hoping the rain stays away so they won't have to deal with a bigger problem.

Crews are on standby around the clock, watching the dam.

The city is prepared to open an emergency shelter if something does happen and those people down stream need a place to stay.

Officials say once they get the water level down below the spillway they will make emergency repairs on the drainage system.

They hope to be able to do that sometime on Wednesday.