Heavy rainfall and severe thunderstorms in the past week have flooded basements, overflowed storm drains and knocked out phone service in parts of the Baltimore region, officials said yesterday.
As of yesterday afternoon, the National Weather Service had recorded 3.55 inches of rain in Baltimore this month. Baltimore is 7.28 inches above normal rainfall totals for the year.
Fallen tree limbs, lightning strikes and waterlogged cables - along with ordinary problems not related to weather - have led to more than 2,500 reports of telephone service troubles in the area, more than double the usual number of problems, said Verizon spokeswoman Sandra Arnette.
About 900 of the complaints were from customers in Baltimore, she said.
Problems range from crackling or static on the line to loss of service, she said.
"Our crews have been working overtime to repair lines and restore service, and that's something we've been doing over the last week or two, and something we're going to continue to do," Arnette said.
Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. reported no significant electrical or gas outages as of yesterday afternoon, and a Comcast spokesman said the company's cable systems hadn't sustained flood damage.
In Baltimore County, officials responded to several calls for backed-up sewers, mostly in the Parkville area, county spokeswoman Ellen Kobler said. Public works crews were also working to clear four blocked storm drains yesterday, she said.
