By DERRILL HOLLY, Associated Press Writer 44 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - The nation's capital readied Tuesday for more of the heavy rains that slathered highways with mud, brought down a 100-year-old elm tree on the White House lawn and caused flooding that shuttered the National Archives and zoo.
With more flash floods in the forecast, government employees were given the option of taking a vacation or personal day. National Guard members were mobilized to distribute sandbags to residents in low lying areas of the city.
Rain was expected in the Washington area and other parts of the East Coast for the rest of the week because of a low-pressure system stalled off the coast, further saturating already soggy ground.
"Areas that have been hard hit could see another round of flash flooding," said Steve Rogowski, a meteorologist with the
National Weather Service office in Sterling, Va.
The rains shut down some of the city's busiest tourist attractions, just days before the Fourth of July weekend. The National Archives — where the Declaration of Independence and Constitution are kept secure under glass — was shut down because the moat surrounding the building on Pennsylvania Avenue had flooded, spokeswoman Susan Cooper said.
All records and national treasures were "safe and dry," she said.
For tourists Sonja Hawn and her two young children, of Laurinsburg, N.C., the rain made for a damp 20-minute walk to the National Museum of American History. When they arrived, they found it closed by the weather — but took it in stride.
"We're going to make the best of it," Hawn said, adding they would try to visit the National Museum of the American Indian instead.
A steam outage at the National Gallery of Art prompted the museum to close so it could maintain the proper humidity for its collections. While no artworks were endangered, the museum closed because crowds would have made it harder to stabilize the environment, a spokeswoman said.
The National Zoo was closed to cars because of flooding in the parking lot but was open to pedestrians. Then it shut down entirely in the afternoon. Amtrak, subway service and commuter rail lines were interrupted during the morning commute, but were running again by afternoon.
The tree that fell on the White House front lawn blocked a road, but visitors were not affected since no tours had been scheduled Monday, the National Park Service said.
Though the federal government remained in business, several buildings had to close. The
Department of Justice was expected to be closed for the rest of the week, and the headquarters of the
Internal Revenue Service and the
Environmental Protection Agency were expected to stay closed Tuesday, said Mike Orenstein, a spokesman for the Office of Personnel Management.
More than 7 inches of rain fell in 24 hours at the National Arboretum in the District of Columbia from Sunday through Monday evening. Up to 14 inches was reported in parts of Delaware and 12 inches at Federalsburg, Md., on the Eastern Shore.
More than 10 inches at Hyattsville, Md., prompted the evacuation of 15 homes as firefighters used boats to rescue 69 people who were trapped inside, said Mark Brady, a Prince George's County fire and rescue spokesman. Boats also were used to rescue 30 people marooned in Chevy Chase, Md. Officials were preparing for possible water rescues Tuesday.
Authorities were keeping their eyes on the morning commute, fearing that more rain could cause problems on roads that flooded Monday. The Virginia Railway Express said in a statement commuters should check its Web site in the morning to see if normal service would be up and running.
In Elkton, Md., a 6-foot wide, 2-foot deep hole opened on I-95, blocking traffic in two northbound lanes, state police said. The Potomac River's Northwest Branch flooded U.S. 29, a major commuter route through Silver Spring, Md., with 5 feet of water and left a layer of mud. Most flooded roads had reopened by late Monday night.
"It's going to be a challenging week," said Maryland State Highway Administration spokesman David Buck.
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Associated Press writers Martin Crutsinger, David Dishnau, Marty Niland and Brett Zongker in Washington, and Kristin Wyatt in Federalsburg, Md., contributed to this report.
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