Heavy storms washed out roads and flooded parts of Harford County this weekend, trapping residents in their homes and submerging cars on the street.
More than a dozen roads in the area of Bel Air, Abingdon and Joppa were closed because of high water between 5 and 8 p.m. Saturday, said Sheriff?s Office Spokesman Bob Thomas ? including Route 40 at the Baltimore-Harford County line.
“Almost every fire service in the county was out on calls last night,” Thomas said Sunday. “This was a wake-up call for the summer storm season now upon us.”
Residents of the entire Winter?s Run area were urged to stay in their homes until the rain and flooding subsided Saturday, Thomas said, while flash-flood warnings persisted until Sunday afternoon. In the northern part of the county, high winds blocked roads with toppled trees and branches.
Fire departments responded to at least five incidents of vehicles stuck in flooded roadways, but none had drivers or passengers trapped inside when rescuers arrived, said Rich Gardiner, spokesman for county fire departments and emergency services.
Near the intersection of Plum Tree and South Tollgate roads, water had risen above the guardrails of a bridge and apparently swept a car about 20 feet downstream, Gardiner said. The car?s headlights and windshield wipers were on, so rescuers smashed in a window to verify that the car was unoccupied.
No one was found further downstream, Gardiner said.
Tollgate Road resident K. Ronald Garling said his neighbor?s car was swept from its parking spot. The lights and wipers may have come on if water shorted out part of the car?s electrical system, he said.
Gardiner said crews had responded to the same area during floods last year, guessing that development and runoff from Bel Air had turned the intersection into a “hot spot” for flooding.
Civil War re-enactments of a Confederate raid at Gunpowder Falls State Park were rained out as flash floods submerged camp sites and concert grounds in several inches of water, said volunteer docent Joan Scovill.
“We were flooded out [Saturday] night ? the whole cavalry just about floated down the Gunpowder,” Scovill said. “The Little Gunpowder was just boiling down to the Chesapeake.”
For the remainder of the summer, Thomas recommended that residents be prepared for heavy storm conditions by keeping a battery-operated radio and flashlight handy and having at least 24 hours worth of food and water stored when a strong storm is approaching.
Gardiner urged drivers never to attempt fording flooded roads or intersections, especially if unsure of the water?s depth.
