MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. — Flash floods and overflowing rivers in Montgomery County left roads closed and drivers calling for help after water flooded into their cars Thursday afternoon.
Pete Piringer, the Chief Spokesperson for Montgomery County Fire and Rescue, reported roughly 150 calls for service Thursday afternoon, with more than two dozen of them for water rescues or vehicles in floodwaters. The county even issued a "Condition Red" warning, to allow the communications center to better handle the onslaught of calls.
Piringer reported that most of the flooding was in Bethesda, Chevy Chase, Kensington, Aspen Hill and Takoma Park.
“In the first half-hour our communication center went on Condition Red which gives us some flexibility as far as them handling calls," Piringer said. "But it also means that we're extremely busy, and that they can adjust some of these assignments, but we were running a number of people stuck in high water, trapped in high water."
No fatalities were reported for the day due to severe weather.
“I'm not aware of any serious injuries," Piringer said. "We have transported a couple people from the hospital. We did rescue a couple people from vehicles, some folks self-rescued, but we did have dozens of cars stuck in presumably flash flood areas."
One of the people trapped inside a flooded car was Alice Metrick, who was stranded in her car after she said water rolled down the street like a wave.
“It happened in seconds," Metrick said. "We were doing fine and all of a sudden it came up right up through the car. This is terrible.”
Metrick was rescued from her car and watched and waited as the water receded.
She was one of dozens of people who were taken aback by the flash flooding.
“In the first half-hour we had 50 or 60 calls for service, a lot of those were weather related,” Piringer said. “Typically, we handle about 300 calls in a 24-hour period. So, you know, 50 or 60 in a half-hour period, that's just going to be a busy day.”