(Washington, DC) The District of Columbia weathered Tropical Storm Hanna with minimal damage. The city activated its emergency operations center (EOC) at noon on Friday in preparation for the storm, which was expected to bring up to eight inches of rain and winds gusting to 40 miles per hour. Representatives from city and federal agencies, along with WMATA, Pepco, WASA, the American Red Cross of the National Capital Area, the Consortium of Universities, the DC National Guard and other emergency response partners monitored the storm from the EOC and are managing the response and recovery operations.
National Weather Service has issued a flood warning for the District until 9 pm, and reports a total rainfall accumulation of six to eight inches.
Staffing
A total of 308 Metropolitan Police Officers were on duty to address storm-related events.
The District Department of Transportation assembled four debris removal teams. Each team is assigned to cover two wards. An additional 30 heavy equipment trucks and operators are on standby. Back up generators were pre-positioned at critical intersections and portable stop signs were pre-staged for rapid deployment if needed.
The Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department staffed five community service units to assist with portable sump/salvage pumps for water evacuation of basements. One brush truck and two swift-water rescue teams also were staffed and ready, and the department was prepared to stand up additional Type II Collapse Search and Rescue Teams.
Outages and Flooding
Pepco reports 3,649 District customers were without power as of 6 pm, primarily scattered through the city’s Southeast quadrant. Restoration was estimated at two to three hours.
There was some minor street flooding. As of 6 pm today we had reports of several streets that had partial lane reductions due to flooding, including:
- Right Lane of Rock Creek Parkway Northbound, South of Calvert Street, NW
- Left Lane of Rock Creek Northbound, North of Waterside Drive, NW
- Independence Ave Northbound between Ohio Drive and Virginia Avenue, NW
- 295 Southbound after Benning Road exit, SE
- 295 Northbound after East Capitol Street and Benning Road, SE
- Howard Road and Martin Luther King Avenue, SE
- Maine Avenue, SW exit off of 395
Thirty DPW employees and 20 Serve DC volunteers distributed a total of approximately 6,500 sandbags (five sandbags per household) over the past two days.
Nine DC public schools experienced some minor flooding. The problems at all but two have been resolved and DCPS officials expect the problems at the remaining two schools to be resolved by tomorrow and all will be ready for school on Monday.
Health and Medical / Human Services
The health department remained in contact with all health care facilities to ensure they did not experience any storm related difficulties. They did not receive any reports of problems.
The Department of Human Services (DHS) was prepared to open shelters, if necessary. The city’s emergency homeless shelters remained open and the hotline was operational in the event that homeless persons needed assistance.
Downed Trees/Limbs/Branches
So far, a total of 24 downed limbs, branches or trees have been reported. Additionally, a tree has fallen on Foxhall Road blocking both lanes and temporarily closing the roadway between Whitehaven Parkway and W Street, NW. Pepco and DDOT are on the scene. Removal will take several hours.
Citizens should call 311 to report downed trees and be sure to include their name, telephone number, email address and the exact address of the incident. Trees are removed from roads first, followed by trees on houses and then those that have fallen on sidewalks. Removal of trees that have fallen near or on power lines requires coordination with Pepco. Citizens should note that it can take up to three to four weeks to get all debris and limbs cleared from public space.
Vehicles that impede Department of Public Works (DPW) or District Department of Transportation (DDOT) crews from removing downed trees or debris that blocks streets will be relocated. No cars have been relocated, to date. Registered owners will not be fined if their vehicle is relocated under these circumstances; however, parking regulations will be enforced for illegally parked vehicles. Drivers who suspect their vehicle has been towed or to confirm the location of a vehicle, should call 311 or go to www.dpw.dc.gov, click on “Parking Enforcement Services” then “Towing and Impoundment” to use DPW's online Towed Vehicle Locator. They also can contact the District’s Towing Control Dispatch Center at (202) 576-6071. Please note that this number does not accept messages.
Citizens also are reminded they should not try to drive or walk through standing water and should stay away from all downed utility lines, regardless of the service type; never assume the lines are non-energized.
- To report downed trees, call 311
- To report power outages, call Pepco at (877) 737-2662
- To report flooding due to blocked catch basins, call WASA at (202) 612-3400
For more information about preparing for and responding to emergencies of all kinds, visit 72hours.dc.gov.