Sep 19, 2009 12:39 pm US/Eastern
Hundreds Feel Impact Of Dundalk Water Main Break
DUNDALK, Md. (WJZ/AP) ―
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A neighborhood is completely flooded after a water main breaks.
CBS
Crews continue to pump water from flooded basements in Dundalk after a 6-foot-wide water main breaks, flooding cars and washing away part of a road.
At a news conference Saturday, Baltimore County Executive James Smith said about 100 basements had flooded. But there were no injuries, arrests or vandalism after the flooding that started Friday afternoon.
About 800 customers were still without power Saturday morning. Baltimore Gas & Electric inspectors were going door-to-door to determine where it was safe to turn the power back on.
Officials with the Baltimore City Public Works Department, which serves the county, plan to inspect the concrete pipe that failed on Saturday.
Gigi Barnett reports crews are working to fix the break, although they warn it could take several weeks.
Baltimore County Executive Jim Smith said the water at the height of flooding was knee- to chest-deep in some places and damaged homes and cars. No injuries or medical emergencies were reported, although crews did rescue several people.
"The only people who had to be rescued were those who went in the water," Smith said.
Baltimore City Public Works crews stopped the flow to the break, which occurred about 4:30 p.m., about two hours later, said Don Mohler, a spokesman for Smith.
By 8:30 p.m., the water had dropped to a maximum of 6 to 8 inches.
Weijia Jiang reports although the water has gone down, residents still have much to deal with. Damaged cars and homes are the primary problems.
"This is like a waterfall, a gusher, whatever you call this thing," said one citizen.
"I feel really upset inside and like all I could do was cry because I didn't know what was going to happen," said Dominique Humphrey.
"It's very scary, it's very nerve-racking, especially because I can't get home," said a resident.
Hundreds of thousands of gallons of water spilled from the water main causing severe damage. Fire and public works crews were going door to door pumping basements. Residents in areas where the flooding has receded were being allowed into their homes although some areas still were under several inches of water.
The water main break also destroyed a large section of Broening Highway and the area surrounding the damage will be closed to traffic.
Baltimore County police spokesman Bill Toohey said officers would patrol the area because the flooding had caused some power outages and prevented residents from getting into their homes.
"We're asking people to stay inside their homes and not to come out and try and tangle with this water. Stay in your house. If you can go to a higher floor, go to a higher floor," said Toohey. "Open your window and hang something out. Right now, we're not going to evacuate anyone, but if it becomes necessary to evacuate, you have something hanging out the window, they'll know you're in there."
Baltimore Gas & Electric spokesman Rob Gould said the flooding did not appear to have damaged any gas mains.
Connie Nall, 49, said the water knocked out power to her home but didn't flood it.
She planned to spend the night at her brother's house nearby. Nall said she found out about the flooding when people called her at work. When she got home, she said, "I saw the water shooting up."
"I kept thinking, oh these poor people, they're going to get their cars messed up," Nall said.
David Scott, director of the Baltimore City Department of Public Works, said the pre-stressed concrete main was installed in the 1970s and would have to be drained, excavated and examined before the cause of the break could be determined.
Rick Abbruzzese, a spokesman for Gov. Martin O'Malley, said the Maryland Emergency Management Agency was monitoring the situation.
"The state will obviously be assisting in cleanup," Abbruzzese said.
The state would assist families with property damage, similar to aid offered after Tropical Storm Isabel damaged homes in 2003, also in eastern Baltimore County, the spokesman said.
O'Malley visited the scene and said officials from the Maryland Insurance Administration would help residents make claims.
If you have been affected and need insurance information, call the State Insurance Administration at 410-468-2090.
Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., issued a statement Friday evening calling the break a disaster.
Mikulski said she had contacted Smith about "working together to meet the immediate needs of the families and businesses of Dundalk as well as the long-range problems caused by our aging infrastructure."
(© 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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