Several elementary schools in Maryland were forced to evacuate due to heavy flooding after heavy rains in the region.
Rescuers were forced to use boats to help save students in northwestern Maryland on Tuesday amid massive flooding. The two schools in the state were Georges Creek Elementary School and Westernport Elementary in Allegany County.
Maryland Elementary Schools Evacuated Amid Flooding
On top of these two, students at a middle school were also told by officials to shelter in place to protect their well-being. Officials also announced that they opened up several shelters at community centers.
On Tuesday night, the National Weather Service said that flood warnings or watches covered more than 17 million people from southern Pennsylvania to parts of West Virginia and western Maryland, and into Virginia and North Carolina.
The Maryland Weather Service Office said that many streams and rivers west of the I-95 were either already in or forecast to go into flood stage at the time of the warnings. It advised residents to "turn around, don't drown," citing that nighttime was especially dangerous, according to NBC News.
The state Department of Emergency Management also said that there was a flood warning in place for Allegany and Washington counties in Maryland until 2:45 a.m. on Wednesday. The county got more than five inches of rain on Tuesday while Prince William County in Virginia got four inches of rain.
West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey also ordered his state's emergency operations center to open because of flash flooding. In a statement, the Mineral County Emergency Management said that roughly 200 people were evacuated because of flooding.
Rescuing Hundreds of Students and Teachers
The elementary schools in Maryland that were evacuated resulted in about 200 students and teachers being rescued. A spokesman and firefighter for Potomac Fire Company No. 2, Jonathan Dayton, said water levels in the schools rose as high as one foot outside of the main entrance, the Washington Post reported.
The Allegany County Department of Emergency Services that rescue operations were able to evacuate all of the schools' students and staff who were on the premises. The evacuation efforts were led by the Allegany County Sheriff's Office and supported by the Maryland State Police.
A government source said that family reunifications were delayed because of ongoing road closures caused by heavy flooding in the area. State police also helped with additional road closures that resulted from high water levels.
Additionally, County officials urged drivers to avoid traveling on all flooded roadways and not try to force their way through standing water, as per ABC News.
