Flooding

Heavy rain squalls and thunderstorms swept across Maryland yesterday, as Tropical Storm Dennis stalled and weakened during its northward trek, flooding low-lying and coastal areas, downing tree branches and causing scattered power outages.After the storm's 14-day dance with North Carolina's coast, yesterday it was Maryland's turn to deal with the fickle storm that forecasters say could produce periods of heavy rain here for two more days.Conditions changed from hour to hour yesterday as bursts of heavy rain were replaced by sunshine, allowing some outdoor Labor Day weekend activities to continue -- while some people kept vigil over rising streams and creeks.

A WARM winter or a cold one? That's a matter of often-flawed human judgment and memory. While winter in these parts was somewhat late in arriving, it hit with a vengeance of disruptive ice and sleet. Then the thermometer shot up to springtime levels. Then it dropped and rose again.But the average temperature for December-January in Central Maryland was 10 degrees colder than in the same period a year ago, according to the latest Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. bill.The concept of global warming, fed by rising human-caused emissions of "greenhouse gases" such as carbon dioxide, is the latest explanation of weather change.

Hurricane Floyd swept through Carroll County in weakened condition yesterday, dumping about 4.5 inches of rain and disrupting the evening rush hour with fallen trees and wires, but causing only minor flooding and power outages for a few thousand residents.With schools closed, parents and kids jammed the movie theater at Cranberry Mall during the day. Some grocery stores reported "snow scare" shopping raids. Parents of schoolchildren scrambled to make child-care arrangements.Schools could be closed again today because of flooding, officials said.

During downpours, residents of Detour have been known to run for cover -- not only from the rain, but also from tires, oil, antifreeze, fuel and sometimes entire vehicles that float down the tiny village's streets.Tucked away in a hollow where Little and Big Pipe creeks join to form Double Pipe Creek, the low-lying village in far western Carroll County has come to accept flooding as a way of life.But the problem has long been made worse by a junkyard -- the source of all manner of debris that flows downstream to the Monocacy River or into the two-block-long village.

State environmental officials have given the go-ahead for a developer to fill in part of a stream to build a 36-home subdivision in Linthicum, a project opposed by area residents worried about flooding and erosion.Nearby homeowners blame storm-water runoff from surrounding developments for soggy lawns and flooded basements.They argue that the proposed Andover Estates project -- on a steep, narrow piece of land between Kingwood and Kingbrook roads -- would make their problems worse."I can't understand why anyone would even think of approving it," said Georgianna Fletcher, 75, who has lived in her Hammonds Ferry Road home since 1952.

Hurricane Floyd lurched through Maryland yesterday like an aging fighter, making plenty of trouble but past its prime.The storm's hammering winds and rain closed schools and businesses, disrupted travel, flooded streets and basements, and downed trees and power lines throughout the region. Hundreds of people were forced from their homes by rising water, and hundreds more were stranded in stalled trains in Baltimore.Some of the worst flooding was in Cecil County, where more than 600 people fled the town of North East.

OCEAN CITY -- As it passed over the Eastern Shore yesterday, Hurricane Floyd took one last vicious kick at Maryland, flooding towns and highways from Crisfield to the northern Chesapeake Bay.A high school principal helping set up a shelter in Princess Anne died of a heart attack.Two girls were missing and presumed drowned after playing in a creek near Bear, Del. The girls, who were swept into a 300-foot storm drainage pipe, were identified as Erica Fisher, 11, and Sarah Robinson, 12. A third girl was rescued from the raging creek.

With Hurricane Floyd likely to bring high winds and heavy rain to Anne Arundel County, officials shut schools, canceled community meetings, told county workers to stay home and readied emergency shelters at opposite ends of the county.Private businesses and residents also went into hurricane preparation mode yesterday.The National Weather Service is predicting winds of 40 to 60 mph, 3 to 6 inches of rain, flooding in low-lying areas of the eastern part of the county and possible flash floods elsewhere.

LAST WEEK'S storm, which closed U.S. 1 in Elkridge, will not be the last to cause flooding in our area. Elkridge's history, geography and aging storm-water drainage system converge to create floods when there is a hard rain.The flood area extends from the bottom of Buttermilk Hill on U.S. 1 and Brumbaugh Street north beyond Levering Avenue almost to the exit ramps leading to the Harbor Tunnel Thruway.Businesses on the west side of U.S. 1 are hit hardest. Daniel's Restaurant, the Elkridge Laundromat, Haker Auto Sales, Avalon Auto Service, the Amoco station and Commercial Tire have all been affected.

RECENT, HUGE STORMS that swamped drainage systems in Baltimore and elsewhere illustrated two truths:Flooding can occur even in the midst of a drought.And storm drains aren't a good place to grow trees.Baltimore has more than 33,000 storm drains -- known as scuppers -- feeding into 1,000 miles of underground pipes. The city has 10 crews -- of four people each -- assigned to ensure the system is clear, according to the city's public works department. These crews are supposed to clean each scupper twice a year.

Wind and waves from the powerful nor'easter that has pummeled the Mid- Atlantic coast since Wednesday have eaten away as much as a quarter of Ocean City's dune line. The sand will have to be replaced, city officials said, but the man-made storm barrier did its job. Other than street flooding and minor wind damage, the resort appears to have weathered the worst of the storm. "There were no instances of ocean water anywhere west of the dune line, and no damage that we can see from the ocean to any property along the oceanfront," said Mayor Rick Meehan.

Baltimore County will operate a Recovery Service Center from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. today at the Watersedge Community Center in Dundalk to assist homeowners with insurance and other problems stemming from the recent water main break. Staff from the county's Office of Community Conservation and state representatives will offer help to residents coping with damages associated with the flooding from the Sept. 18 incident. They will interview residents and take applications in an effort to determine what government financial resources might be available.

We woke yesterday morning to a remarkable spectacle: water flooding downtown Baltimore, snarling traffic and cutting off water, electricity, telephone and Internet service to many center city businesses. To city residents, such breaks have become an all-too-frequent occurrence. There have been more than 5,000 breaks in the past four years. Earlier this year the rupture of a 30-inch pipe under East Monument Street disrupted performances at Center Stage, flooded the basement of a state building and a church, and forced the closure of sections of Calvert Street.

Climate change will produce a sharp increase in storm-related flooding and coastal erosion over the next century in Maryland and the rest of the mid-Atlantic coastal states, affecting both natural and human communities, the federal government said in a report released yesterday. The 786-page report by the Environmental Protection Agency says that rising sea levels as a result of global warming could worsen current losses of tidal marshes, which are vital spawning and nursery areas for fish and birds.

Global climate change could undermine efforts to restore the Chesapeake Bay by flooding coastal areas and washing more pollution into the water, a new scientific report warns. The report, issued yesterday by the federal bay program office in Annapolis, notes that scientists have detected significant increases in sea level and bay water temperature over the past century. Further changes are likely, the report says, especially if current emissions of greenhouse gases continue unabated. Coastal flooding is likely if sea level rises 2 to 5 feet, as climate-change models project, the report says.

Events today prompt road closures in city 1 Baltimore transportation officials are warning of road closures and heavy traffic in two areas of the city today because of weekend events. From 9 a.m. until 9 p.m., the Street Beat Festival will be held in Federal Hill. From 3 a.m. until 10 p.m., Charles Street will be closed from Hamburg Street to West Street, Cross Street (north) will be closed from Light Street to Olive Street, and Cross Street (south) will be closed from Charles to Light.

GALVESTON, Texas - Punishing winds and waves from Hurricane Ike smashed into this low-lying barrier island yesterday, flooding roads and providing a preview of what authorities predicted would be catastrophic damage to Galveston - and possibly Houston and other inland areas. The storm, as big as Texas and packing winds of at least 110 mph, was expected to slam into the coast somewhere near Galveston just after midnight. Forecasters predicted that the storm's "dirty side," with the heaviest storm surge and highest winds, would batter Houston, the nation's fourth-largest city.

Although it killed at least 100 people in Haiti and whipped up wind, tornadoes and drenching rain after making its U.S. landfall in the Carolinas, Tropical Storm Hanna lost much of its sizzle yesterday by the time it moved up the coast and doused Maryland. The storm was blamed for one death, that of the driver of a sport utility vehicle that hit a tree after veering off Interstate 95 near Powder Mill Road in Prince George's County. A child in the vehicle was injured. Heavy rain caused hazardous driving conditions and numerous other accidents around the state, as well as minor flooding.

Storms hit the Baltimore area with a one-two punch yesterday afternoon and evening, pummeling the area with heavy rain and high winds about 4 p.m., then following up with a second downpour about five hours later. About 9 p.m., water entered the Baltimore Washington Medical Center emergency room through a leak in the roof, causing minor flooding, said Capt. Harry Steiner, an Anne Arundel County Fire Department spokesman. The building also lost electrical power, but generators kept patients' ventilators and monitors running, said Allison Eatough, a hospital spokeswoman.

One can only wonder if a plague of locusts is far behind. This has been what some might call a biblical year out here in the Midwest. January began with lingering heavy and persistent snows, followed by an earthquake, deadly tornado activity, and severe June flooding. Reports by the national media have made it sound like we Iowans are chest-deep in water, which isn't exactly the case. For most, the rain and flooding have been nothing more than a nuisance, washing out driveways, closing roads and bridges, etc. Getting from here to there has become more complicated.