Waters rise in Washington
Motorists find themselves stranded in a flooded area of Washington, D.C., during a heavy rainstorm Monday. The slow-moving storm dropped several inches of rain, washing out roads and causing water to gush into basements, including that of the White House. Video is available at arkansasonline.com/79dcflood
WASHINGTON — A slow-moving rainstorm Monday washed out roads, stranded drivers and soaked basements, including the White House’s, during a chaotic morning commute in the national capital region.
Water gushed into the media work space in the basement near the White House’s West Wing. Government employees worked to drain puddles of standing water with wet vacuums.
Flooding led to electrical failures that closed the National Archives Building and Museum, according to a statement from the National Archives, which said the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights were safe and not in any danger.
National Weather Service meteorologist Cody Ledbetter said the storm dumped about 6.3 inches of rain near Frederick, Md.; about 4.5 inches near Arlington, Va.; and about 3.4 inches at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in a two-hour period.
“The storm was not moving very quickly,” Ledbetter said. Water levels at Cameron Run in Alexandria, Va., a floodprone area along the Capital Beltway, rose more than 7 feet over 30 minutes after 9 a.m., according to the weather service.
Pete Piringer, a spokesman for the Fire Department in Montgomery County, Md., said emergency workers responded to dozens of rescue calls and used boats to pluck people from flooded cars.