More News

Drenched

Rains leave flood of wreckage

Thursday, June 29, 2006

Click here to enlarge this photo Raphael Talisman⁄The Gazette On Tuesday, police tape blocks off the Family Dollar discount store in Oxon Hill, where the outside wall collapsed after lightning struck on Monday.a Click here to enlarge this photo (Above) Christopher Anderson⁄The Gazette, (Above) Marty Page of Edmonston adjusts the pump draining water from his back yard and basement Monday between bouts of heavy rain. (Below) On Tuesday, police tape blocks off the Family Dollar discount store in Oxon Hill, where the outside wall collapsed after lightning struck on Monday.

These are snapshots from Prince George’s County as rain hammered the region this week, flooding homes, washing out roads and leaving residents stranded. Although the county worked to clean up on Wednesday, the shock lingered.

‘‘It doesn’t look real,” said Mary Rodgers, whose family members were among the 70 Hyattsville residents evacuated Monday.

‘‘The couch was floating up to the ceiling,” she said of her daughter’s basement.

Hyattsville recorded 10 inches of rain in the first 24 hours, starting Sunday.

For Zena Dunwell, it was like a scene from the movie ‘‘Titanic.”

‘‘The water was so high,” she said, while surveying the damage to her home on Hyattsville’s Rittenhouse Street.

Elsewhere, residents dealt with power outages at as many as 2,000 homes. And while two roads in Laurel and Bowie had to be shut down entirely, major thoroughfares like Route 495 and East-West Highway were backed up when lanes had to be closed because of flooding.

In Edmonston, the situation was described by the mayor as the worst it’s been in three years. The scene there was a reminder of the major storms that swamped residents’ homes and caused tens of thousands of dollars worth of damage in 2004 and 2005.

Unwelcome encore

During the deluge Sunday night to Monday morning, rain overwhelmed Edmonston’s pumping station. Surging water damaged at least 40 homes, though estimates of the financial toll aren’t in yet.

Related Photo gallery: The storm in pictures Prince George's County: WSSC: Duckett floodgates are closed Prince George's County: Rains leave flood of wreckage Prince George's County: Laurel braves the storm Montgomery County: Pregnant woman saved from raging floodwaters Montgomery County: County officials uncertain when residents will get green light to return home Montgomery County: No change overnight at Lake Needwood dam Frederick County: Teens’ bodies found Frederick County: Hearing cries, but unable to save three lives Frederick County: One of the worst storms in memory Frederick County: Officials urge residents to use care when driving in storms

The 1950s-era pumping station has failed before. The county scheduled a $6 million upgrade of it by 2007. In the interim, county officials agreed to assist the city with auxiliary pumps in case of emergency.

But residents complained that the extra pumps did not arrive quickly enough during the storm’s fiercest hours, and much of the damage could have been prevented.

‘‘We thought special procedures were going to be followed, and they weren’t followed,” Edmonston Mayor Adam Ortiz said. ‘‘We know the pump doesn’t keep up. The county and the town agreed that the auxiliary pumps would be on the ready.”

The extra pumps were set up by 3 a.m. Monday, more than four hours after they were called in.

‘‘I know it doesn’t take four hours to get anywhere in Prince George’s County,” said Edmonston Councilwoman Betsy McCauley.

County officials claim the extra pumps would not have prevented the flooding anyway.

The two existing units pump 44,000 gallons per minute, according to the Department of Public Works and Transportation. The auxiliary pumps can handle just 4,000 gallons per minute.

‘‘Even if the auxiliary pump had been there, the town still would have flooded,” said John Erzen, spokesman for County Executive Jack B. Johnson.

Erzen said county officials were concerned about the amount of time it took the contractors to drive the equipment from Beltsville to Edmonston eight miles away. But DPWT spokeswoman Susan Hubbard said the contractors were slowed by the flooded roads.

Residents have begun the recovery phase. Ortiz said that Wal-Mart and the county government will donate 30 dehumidifiers to residents.

‘‘We’re tough, we’re getting back on our feet and life is beginning to return to normal,” he said, expressing optimism at the cleanup effort.

It’s not clear who will pay for damage to the homes. The county already is paying $84,000 to victims of the last flood who were let down by the pumping station.

Technically, the pumps did not fail this time. Ortiz hopes the county comes through with more money anyway.

Erzen said it was too early to tell if the county would reimburse residents, but that Johnson is committed to helping the residents recover.

Patuxent problems

The flooding of the Patuxent River caused just as many problems for residents of Laurel and Bowie.

In Bowie, the fire department had to rescue a man clinging to a tree in the Patuxent, The New Jersey native, in his early 20’s, had tried to swim across with a friend, but the current was too swift, according to the county fire department.

Bowie Volunteer Fire Department Chief Ralph Coleman said the man was pushed 150 feet downstream before he grabbed a tree branch.

‘‘We are continuing to remind people these aren’t the type of waters you fool around with,” said county fire department spokesman Mark Brady. ‘‘It can take you away, even if you are the best of swimmers.”

Brady said Wednesday that firefighters are about to head into communities throughout the county to help residents empty the water out of their homes.

In Laurel, 37 residents took refuge at a city-run shelter Monday night, when the city issued a voluntary evacuation advisory. All have returned to their homes, and the shelter has been closed.

However, the city had to close its Riverfront Park on the Patuxent due to high waters. And the gates at the Howard T. Duckett reservoir had to be opened to let water out, because the water was rising to a point where it could have spilled over. Those levels have since dropped.

The torrential rain turned deadly on Monday when a woman driving a Chrysler on Route 50 in Bowie lost control and her car spun into a guardrail. Driver Mary Leslie Griffin, 43, of Silver Spring, died in the accident.

In Oxon Hill, the outside wall of the discount store Family Dollar store also collapsed Monday night after it was struck by lightning. No one was hurt.

The company will work with the landowner to try to reopen the store, a spokeswoman said.

Residents left with flooded homes and soaked possessions are wondering what to do next.

‘‘It’s been happening too many times lately,” said Edmonston resident Adamaria Galeas, who just finished spending $24,000 in home repairs after the last two floods. Monday’s storm flooded her basement nearly to the ceiling, and she doesn’t have an estimate of how much damage it caused.

‘‘It’s eerie, you know,” said Hyattsville resident Carolyn Eason. ‘‘You go to bed and everything’s nice and dry, and you wake up and your house is about to float away.”

Contributing writer Karen Campbell, and staff writers Jason Flanagan, Steve Earley, Tia Carol Jones and Jeffrey Lyles contributed to this article.

E-mail Judson Berger at jberger@gazette.net.