State Of Emergency

Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. declared a limited state of emergency for waterlogged Harford and Cecil counties yesterday, while new, fast-moving storms dropped heavy rain and quarter-sized hail and prompted tornado warnings in some areas of the state. Forecasters' warnings of flooding and tornadoes appeared more ominous for residents of North East and Havre de Grace who were still cleaning up from Monday's weather, but none occurred in Maryland. "Oh, today was nothing," said Joe Conaway, operations manager for Havre de Grace's Department of Public Works.

Harford County continued to brace for the arrival of Hurricane Sandy on Saturday - and for the prospect once severe damage locally from the storm once it arrives in the area as anticipated. Harford County remains under a State of Emergency, put into effect Friday afternoon by County Executive David Craig. A state of emergency was declared throughout Maryland by Gov. Martin O'Malley, also on Friday. The Harford County Division of Emergency Operations also partially activated Friday in preparation for the arrival of Sandy, which is expected reach the area in some form between late Sunday or early Monday, according to forecasts and weather modeling as of Saturday afternoon.

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa -- Reacting to the growing violence threatening South Africa's first multiracial elections, President F. W. de Klerk announced a state of emergency and ordered the army into the riotous KwaZulu-Natal region yesterday.A government spokesman, Richard Carter, said the deployment had begun last night.The deployment is designed to ensure that people in the region will be able to vote despite the resistance of the area's primary political figure, Mangosuthu Buthelezi, leader of the Inkatha Freedom Party.

Harford County will remain under a state of emergency until early October under a resolution passed by the county council Tuesday evening. County Executive David Craig had previously declared a state of emergency on Aug. 26 in advance of Hurricane Irene by issuing an executive order. Under state law, that initial declaration could only remain in effect for seven days, unless extended with the consent of the county council. The 30-day extension, which will run through the first week in October, was requested by Craig and unanimously approved by the council during its legislative session inBel Air. Nancy Giorno, the deputy county attorney who represents the county executive in matters before the council, said the main reason for continuing the state of emergency is so the county can remain eligible for any disaster relief funds that might be available through the Maryland Emergency Management Agency, or MEMA, or the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA.

PRETORIA, South Africa -- Insisting that the door to peaceful negotiations is now "fully open," President F. W. de Klerk declared an end yesterday to the state of emergency in Natal province, the last remaining region of South Africa where emergency regulations were still in effect."

TIRANA, Albania -- The Albanian government imposed a nationwide state of emergency last night in an effort to assert control as anarchy engulfed Europe's poorest and now angriest country.The southern half of the country spiraled out of the government's hold yesterday, as enraged protesters burned buildings and looted banks and stores in the southern coastal city of Sarande.At least four people were reported killed by gunfire in other Albanian cities.The state of emergency, which bans people from gathering in groups of more than four and authorizes "all force" by the army, police and secret police, was seen as a last-ditch gamble by the widely unpopular president, Sali Berisha, a former ranking member of one of communism's most isolated and hard-line parties.

Correctional officers stuck in maximum-security prisons for 24 hours at a time during last month's record snowfall, along with other state workers, are seeking double pay for their work while the state of emergency was in effect, a provision their union says is in its contract. The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 92 filed several class-action grievances last week on behalf of its members who are considered essential employees, including hospital workers and some state highway workers who plowed after 28.2 inches of snow fell.

BOGOTA, Colombia - Colombian President Alvaro Uribe declared a state of emergency and imposed a wartime surtax yesterday, taking his first steps in a presidency he promised would offer a "firm hand" against rebels. The limited state of emergency allows the government to prohibit public rallies or media interviews with guerrilla commanders, among other things, and allows for curfews, wiretapping and searches without a court order. Uribe made the announcement before dawn, after a six-hour Cabinet meeting, declaring that it was necessary to combat a recent wave of terrorism.

MOSCOW -- Bowing to a resignation threat by Georgian leader Eduard A. Shevardnadze, Georgia's Parliament imposed a two-month state of emergency on the war-ravaged country yesterday to combat a wave of criminal and paramilitary violence.The vote came late in the evening, after Mr. Shevardnadze reacted to the Parliament's reluctance to impose the emergency by tendering his resignation during a televised legislative session and stalking out of the hall, saying, "I'm fed up with it all."Later, the former Soviet foreign minister and KGB official appeared before a rally of 10,000 supporters to say he would retract his resignation only if Parliament approved the emergency and agreed to suspend its own actions for three months.

Correctional officers stuck in maximum-security prisons for 24 hours at a time during last month's record snowfall, with other state workers, are seeking double pay for their work while the state of emergency was in effect, a provision their union says is in its contract. The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 92 filed several class action grievances last week on behalf of its members who are considered essential employees, including hospital workers and some state highway workers who plowed after 28.2 inches of snow fell.

As Hurricane Irene moves closer to Maryland, Annapolis MayorJoshua J. Cohen declared a State of Emergency within the city limits, effective 10 a.m. Friday, urging residents in low-lying areas to evacuate by Saturday afternoon. Worcester County also ordered a mandatory evacuation by 9 a.m. Saturday in the following areas: West Ocean City Sanitary Service Area (east of Herring Creek and north of Old Bridge Road); all properties east of Route 611 (Stephen Decatur Highway); and all properties in South Point (both sides of South Point Road)

Gov. Martin O'Malley just declared a state of emergency in preparation for Hurricane Irene, which could dump as much as a foot of rain on Maryland this weekend. The executive order signed by the governor activates the state national guard and puts the Maryland Emergency Management Agency into high gear. The governor plans to give a news conference from the MEMA headquarters inReisterstown later this afternoon. States up and down the eastern seaboard are preparing for the storm, the first to threaten Maryland this year.

Maryland is under a state of emergency as a winter storm that forecasters described as "extremely dangerous" brought potentially record-breaking snow totals and gale-force winds to the region. Accumulation rates as high as 2 to 3 inches an hour were expected to bury the region in up to 2 feet of snow by daybreak Saturday. If the forecasters are right, another 5 to 9 inches of snow is possible before the precipitation ends Saturday evening, with total accumulations of 20 to 30 inches, or more, predicted.

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- President Pervez Musharraf promised yesterday to lift his emergency decree by Dec. 16, but opponents expressed skepticism that he would fully roll back the repressive measures he imposed nearly a month ago. The pledge came hours into Musharraf's tenure as a strictly civilian leader, which he touted as proof of his commitment to democracy. Taking the oath of office for a new five-year presidential term in the morning, the former general defended his decision to declare emergency rule and chided the West for "unrealistic" expectations about the nature of democracy in Pakistan.

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- President Gen. Pervez Musharraf decided yesterday against declaring a state of emergency, hours after senior officials in his government said such a step was under consideration. An emergency declaration would have given the Pakistani leader, who is beset by plummeting popularity and the worst political troubles of his eight-year rule, sweeping powers to suppress dissent, muzzle the media and put off elections. Some analysts speculated that talk of an emergency declaration was leaked by Musharraf's aides to gauge international and domestic reaction to the prospect of authoritarian rule in Pakistan.

MIAMI -- Tornadoes roared through central Florida before dawn yesterday, tearing roofs off houses, flattening a church built to withstand hurricanes and throwing people from their beds into lakes and piles of debris. At least 19 people died in the flash of destruction that hit while they slept. While thunderstorms and the tornadoes they spawn are common throughout Florida year-round, the blast that gathered over the northern Gulf of Mexico late Thursday and swept across the state between 3 and 4 a.m. was the deadliest in nearly a decade.

Saying that Allegany County residents need "immediate relief," Gov. Parris N. Glendening declared a state of emergency there yesterday because of severe drought conditions that have led to a water supply crisis throughout much of the Western Maryland subdivision.Authorities report that the water shortage is most severe in the Georges Creek and Mount Savage watershed, with the last significant rainfall -- 1.5 inches -- occurring in mid-September.ZTC Virtually no rain fell west of Cumberland in November.

On July 13, the usually bucolic center of Hanover -- a Pennsylvania borough of about 15,000 people five miles north of the state line -- erupted into chaos as groups of blacks and whites began to taunt and fight each other.Borough officials, hoping to quell the two-day disturbance that attracted as many as 400 people at a time, began vigorously enforcing Hanover's juvenile curfew laws and invoking their power to declare a state of emergency.The state of emergency, which kept everyone off the streets from midnight to 5 a.m., lasted until the end of November.

NEAR FALLUJAH, Iraq -- American troops began a drive into western sections of the rebel-held city of Fallujah last night, securing a hospital and major bridges in what appeared to be the initial phase of an all-out assault to retake the city and crush the insurgency that has controlled it since April. The push into Fallujah began hours after interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi imposed a 60-day state of emergency in most of the country to confront a fresh wave of violence sweeping Iraq. Facing a decisive battle in Fallujah, where they are severely outgunned and outmanned, insurgents have engineered widespread attacks across central and western Iraq in the past two days, killing at least 50 people and wounding scores.