USA – Evacuations After Floods in Maryland and New Jersey
31 July, 2016 by Richard Davies
Storms dumping as much as 6 inches of rain in the space of a few hours caused flooding in parts of Maryland and New Jersey during the evening of 30 July, 2016.
Further severe weather warnings have been issued by the National Weather Service including a flash flood watch for parts of New York state.
Maryland
A state of emergency was declared in Howard County, Maryland, after 6 inches (150 mm) of rainfall in a few hours caused flooding in several areas including Ellicott City.
National Weather Service in Baltimore and Washington DC warned late on 30 July of a Flash Flood Emergency for Howard and South West Baltimore Counties.
In a statement, county officials warned of the threat of further flooding and requested those in affected areas to evacuate their homes.
“Residents living in the areas of Centennial, Lake Kittamaqundi, and Allview along the Little Patuxent River should move away from the river to higher ground. There still remains the potential for large volumes of water to be released and flood the surrounding area should an upstream dam fail.”
Declaring a state of emergency will allow the County to access state resources to assist areas impacted by the flooding.
Several people were evacuated from their homes in Main Street Old, Ellicott City, according to Howard County officials. Howard County Fire and Emergency Services reported of numerous water rescues in the Ellicott City area.
Two centres, one in Ellicott City, the other in Columbia, have been opened to accommodate those evacuated from their homes.
No injuries or fatalities were reported initially. However, since then there have been some unconfirmed reports of one fatality in Howard County.
Some flooding was also reported in Baltimore. The Baltimore Fire Department said they carried out several flood rescues.
Unofficial rainfall measurements suggest that some areas saw over 6 inches (150 mm) of rain during a 7 hour period on the evening of 30 July.
Rainfall
Ellicott City – 6.04 inches (153.4 mm)
Woodstock – 5.69 (144.5 mm)
Columbia – 3.6 (91.44 mm)
Damascus (Montgomery County) – 5.1 (129.54 mm)
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New Jersey
The National Weather Service (NWS) issued a flash flood emergency for northeastern Mercer County, especially Princeton and West Windsor during the evening of 30 July.
NWS said up to six inches of rain had already fallen with the worst flooding taking place between Princeton and Plainsboro.
West Windsor Township in New Jersey declared a state of emergency after flooding left cars stranded and roads submerged in water.
Areas of Princeton were also affected. Princeton, New Jersey police department said in a statement:
Heavy rainfall is causing localized flooding and hazardous conditions. Please avoid all hight water areas and do not attempt to traverse closed roadways. We are receiving reports of stranded vehicles attempting to navigate through high water.
Police said that several places were experiencing high water in the roadway and are impassable in spots.Princeton University said that there was “Lots of flooding around campus, including the Wawa, which is closed temporarily.”