Irene Batters Md.: Roads Closed, Many Trees Down, Thousands Without Power
BALTIMORE (WJZ/AP)-- Maryland is assessing the damage as Irene leaves the state.
A woman was killed when a tree fell on a house and caused the chimney to collapse in Queen Anne's County.
BGE says that some 453,000 people in the state are without power. That does not account for the 158,000 outages that have been restored. Most of those outages are in Anne Arundel County, Baltimore County and Baltimore City.
Alex DeMetrick has more:
There are hundreds of reports of trees down across the area. In addition, there are about 200 roads closed throughout the state due to downed trees and power lines and water. Governor Martin O'Malley says St. Mary's County in southern Maryland appears to be hardest hit by the road closures.
O'Malley appeared especially heartened that Ocean City did not sustain greater damage. He says Mayor Rick Meehan "was almost giddy to be able to report that his city fared as well as it did."
Gov. O'Malley Holds News Conference:
Meanwhile, Dorchester General Hospital in Cambridge was evacuated Sunday morning due to wind and water damage sustained overnight during Hurricane Irene.
The emergency department at DGH is closed immediately. Approximately 30 patients are being transferred by ambulance to the Memorial Hospital at Easton.
"Our first priority is patient and staff safety," said Jerry Walsh, interim CEO for Shore Health System. "We thank our employees and physicians who have weathered the storm to ensure that we have been able to maintain patient care. Communications between our hospitals and our community partners is ongoing so that we can continue to sustain services while we assess the damages and make repairs to DGH."
Walsh adds, "We expect to have DGH up and running with full services within a few days."
Queen Anne's County residents have been given the all clear to return home, although extreme caution is advised as there are still downed trees, some roadway flooding and a few downed power lines. There are area wide power outages. Chief Kevin Aftung, of Queen Anne's County Emergency Services, rescinded the mandatory evacuation order 9 a.m. Sunday. The shelter at Church Hill Elementary School has closed. The shelter at Centreville Middle School is still open.
BWI has reopened, but you still should check to see if your flights are on time.
Meanwhile in Baltimore City, there were many trees down. Officials are asking that if you see a blocked storm drain in the city, call 311 to report it.
Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake discusses the damage:
Gigi Barnett has a first look at the damage in Baltimore City:
Maryland State Police say an apparent tornado touched down on the lower Eastern Shore. Spokesman Greg Shipley says a trooper saw what appeared to be a twister touch down in a wooded area near Powellville in Wicomico County shortly before 9 p.m. Saturday.
Shipley says there's no indication of injuries or damage to structures.
MEMA has the latest on conditions in Maryland:
The Chesapeake Bay Bridge has reopened. Maryland Transportation Authority closed the Bay Bridge Saturday evening after sustained winds at the bridge reached 62 mph and gusts reached 80 mph .
Harry W. Nice Memorial Bridge has reopened with alternating traffic.
Update with Maryland Transportation Authority:
Calvert Cliffs was evacuated because of Irene. Late Saturday night, heavy gusts of wind caused a reactor at Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant to go off-line after a large piece of aluminum siding hit the main transformer. There is no threat and no injuries.
In Baltimore, local bus and Metro Subway resumed operations at 6 a.m. Sunday as scheduled. Light rail is expected to return to service on its regular Sunday schedule at 11 a.m. Passengers may experience some delays due to downed trees and power lines.
For more information, go to www.mta.maryland.com or call 410-539-5000.
MTA's Terry Owens has more:
Crews are still responding to emergency calls.
Rob Gould, chief communications officer for BGE, has the update:
"We're concerned about the combination of heavy, heavy rain and a ground that's already saturated," said Gould, BGE. "Add in the wind and you have a recipe for disaster where the trees could be coming down on the lines."
Gould says everyone should call if there's an outage and not to assume that BGE knows about it.
Many of the outages were in Anne Arundel County.
Weijia Jiang reports conditions in Anne Arundel County worsened as night fell, cutting off power to tens of thousands.
Winds whipped so hard, the Severn River and the Naval Academy bridges were shut down.
In the heart of the state capital, City Dock's Ego Alley—usually filled with boats and visitors—only saw ducks. And the rain continued to pound down through the night.
Video from Annapolis:
"We have increased our total rain amount from what we thought would be about 8 inches to 11 inches so potential for flooding increased immensely," said Rhonda Wardlaw, City of Annapolis spokeswoman.
To that end, the Anne Arundel County executive urged people who live in low-lying areas, including parts of Riviera Beach to evacuate to safer ground.
"We can expect the same kind of power outages we felt in Isabel. About three-quarters of the homes will be without power," said Leopold.
Leopold talks to WJZ
Many locals chose to stay around, hoping it was the right choice.
"We have a whole house generator. We've taken precautions with water, milk, strapped down all of our furniture," said Laura Sita, Annapolis resident.
Business owners took heed too, working for days to board up, tape windows, and pile sandbags— all meant to protect their livelihoods, with flashbacks of 2003's Isabel all too vivid.
"We screw the boards to the jam there and what water does come in, we have pumps that shoot it right out and we should be fine," said Sveinn Storm, of Storm Brothers Ice Cream.
City leaders say Annapolis High School is being used as a temporary shelter. Pets are allowed. Leopold reported 67 people and 10 pets were at the shelter in the 5 a.m. Sunday.
To check if you live in a flood-prone area, and for precautions on what you can do if you do, visit the Maryland Emergency Agency website.
