The video (below) was jarring: cars driving through muddy flood waters that nearly reached the tops of tires.
Even more jarring: this was happening along busy Columbia Pike, a route not noted for being flood-prone, during the evening rush hour.
The scene yesterday evening was captured on video by a passerby, showing floodwaters inundating a low-lying section of the Pike near S. Greenbrier Street. As commenters pointed out this morning, driving through flooded roads is a bad idea, but despite repeated reminders to “turn around, don’t drown,” drivers continue willfully operating their vehicles as if they were hovercraft.
(A spokesman with Arlington’s Dept. of Environmental Services tells ARLnow the department is still investigating the flooding and “looking into whether there were any construction-related obstructions in the storm sewer inlets.”)
Arlington County Police Department spokeswoman Ashley Savage this morning offered the following tips for driving during heavy rain and potential flooding situations.
Residents are reminded to:
- Sign up for Arlington Alert to receive emergency notifications including severe weather alerts.
- Whenever possible, limit travel during times of severe weather.
- Avoid areas already flooded, especially if the water is flowing fast.
- It is never safe to drive or walk into flood waters. If you see a flooded roadway, seek an alternative route.
- According to the National Weather Service, 6 inches of fast-moving flood water can knock over an adult. It takes just 12 inches of rushing water to carry away a small car, while 2 feet of rushing water can carry away most vehicles. Play it safe, Turn Around Don’t Drown.
- If you see a hazard, report to the Emergency Communications Center at 703-558-2222 or call 9-1-1 in an emergency.
Those tips may come in handy tonight. A Flash Flood Watch is set to take effect at 2 p.m. From the National Weather Service:
…FLASH FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 11 PM EDT THIS EVENING… * THUNDERSTORMS WITH HEAVY RAINFALL ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP ACROSS THE WATCH AREA THIS AFTERNOON AND LINGER INTO THE EVENING. LOCALIZED RAINFALL TOTALS OF SEVERAL INCHES ARE POSSIBLE. THIS COULD LEAD TO FLASH FLOODING, ESPECIALLY IN THE URBAN AREAS. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS… A FLASH FLOOD WATCH MEANS THAT CONDITIONS MAY DEVELOP THAT LEAD TO FLASH FLOODING. FLASH FLOODING IS A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION. YOU SHOULD MONITOR LATER FORECASTS AND BE PREPARED TO TAKE ACTION SHOULD FLASH FLOOD WARNINGS BE ISSUED. &&
The video from last night’s flooding is below.
Columbia Pike and Greenbrier St. in Arlington. @ARLnowDOTcom @capitalweather pic.twitter.com/NNFESeuYc3
— Becky Haberacker (@haberackerb) June 17, 2019
Photo via Becky Haberacker/Twitter