Posted on 06/27/2006 4:57:54 PM PDT by Libloather
More Rain Likely for Soaked Northeast
By STEPHEN MANNING
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
WASHINGTON - Workers pumped water from the IRS headquarters' flooded basement Tuesday and mopped up at other government buildings Monday after heavy rain swamped the nation's capital.
A brief break from the two-day deluge gave crews a chance to reopen commuter routes and set up sandbags to prevent more water from getting inside buildings.
More than 7 inches of rain fell on the nation's capital in a 24-hour period Sunday and Monday, shutting down several federal buildings and closing some of the city's busiest tourist attractions just days before the Fourth of July weekend
Forecasters warned that more rain is likely every day this week.
In downtown Washington, the Justice Department, the IRS and the National Archives where the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were safe under glass were among several buildings still closed because of flooding or other storm-related problems. Some streets were also shut down because water from the flooded buildings was being pumped into the city sewers.
None of the flooded buildings had structural damage, but water in the basements damaged air-conditioning, wiring and other building systems, said Mike McGill, a spokesman for the General Services Administration, which manages federal buildings.
Officials at the Justice Department said it could take a week to clean up and reopen the building.
The storm also toppled a 100-year-old elm tree on the White House lawn Monday. Claudia Dickens, a spokeswoman for the Bureau of Printing and Engraving, said the elm might be one of the trees depicted on the back of the $20 bill.
But she said it is also possible that the artist and the engraver took artistic license in depicting the greenery at the White House.
Commuters and tourists slogged through the muddy aftermath. With the continuing threat of flash flooding, government employees were given the option of taking a personal day.
Flood warnings and watches remained in effect Tuesday along the Sastern Seaboard, and the National Weather Service warned that some places could get up to 8 inches rain. That could be dangerous for soaked communities that already absorbed as much as 10 inches of rain Sunday and Monday.
In Pennsylvania, countless small streams and creeks overflowed their banks. The weather service predicted severe flooding along the Philadelphia area's Schuylkill River by Wednesday afternoon.
In Alexandria, Va., officials urged residents and businesses to prepare for high water on the Potomac River. Rescuers searched for an 8-year-old girl swept away by floodwaters in Alleghany County.
Associated Press writers Marty Niland and Derrill Holly in Washington contributed to this report.
How high's the water momma?
I should add the weather people have been very quiet on the Global Warming/Weather patterns angle the past month or so.
Don't you think you all could share/spare a bit for the West and SW US? Tell Congress to go back in session and exhale westward. Maybe that will send it this way.
3 feet high and risin'.
I'm hoping that some of those permanent government pussies that keep leaking to the New York Times float away with the water. Should we send them to you or can we take care of those rats here in Chicago the old fashioned way?
They should float nicely down the Mi'ssippi to populate the chocolate city.
Couldn't have happened to a more appropriate agency
I've heard Iowa is as dry as a popcorn fart. Locally, it's been so dry over the past few years/decade, a dam was built to save some water. (Hey, the heavy influx of illegal immigrants have to drink something!) The dam was finished about a month ago. It hasn't stopped raining since...
"How high's the water momma?"
Two feet high and risin'
How're you doing in the southeastern part of the state?
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