Flooding brings US capital to a standstill

MUCH of the US capital was forced to shut down yesterday after a weekend of heavy rain left washed-out roads and mudslides, blocking key routes in and out of Washington DC and causing widespread damage.

The Internal Revenue Service headquarters, the Commerce Department and the National Archives were also closed due to flooding and the National Gallery of Art was closed because of weather-related problems with its steam system.

In the suburbs, emergency crews had to use boats to rescue dozens of people trapped by flood water.

The storm dumped more than seven inches of rain in 24 hours on Sunday and yesterday at the National Arboretum and a flash flood watch was in effect in the region.

Rain is forecast every day this week because of a stubborn low-pressure system off the coast, the US National Weather Service said.

Firefighters in Chevy Chase in Maryland — one of the states which borders the District of Colombia — rescued 30 people by boat from a recreation centre late on Sunday, said a spokesman for the Montgomery County fire and rescue service.

In nearby Hyattsville, crews took 69 people from flooded homes to safety.

The high water also shut down rail lines into the capital. Drivers weren’t having much more luck. Underpasses were flooded and a mudslide piled five feet of debris on a roadway.

At the National Archives — home to the Declaration of Independence, Constitution and other historic documents — researchers were told not to come in because the moat surrounding the building on Pennsylvania Avenue had flooded, a spokeswoman said.

She said a preliminary assessment indicated all records held there were “safe and dry”.

Even US President George W Bush got an up-close look at the damage — a large elm tree fell on the White House front lawn overnight, blocking one of the roads.