Flash floods after downpour in Detroit, Baltimore
For Maryland’s two largest cities on the Chesapeake, flooding that once occurred just a day or two in any given year is increasingly common — more so than anywhere else in the country, according to a recent federal study.
The rainfall total at BWI, the point of record for Baltimore, smashed a record of 4.91 inches for Tuesday’s date, and it ranked as the second-rainiest single day in Baltimore, after Aug. 23, 1933, when 7.62 inches fell.
- A worker clears rain water from the circle during the women’s hammer throw at the European Athletics Championships at the Letzigrund Stadium in Zurich August 13, 2014. (Phil Noble/REUTERS)
- A bystander takes pictures of Sawmill Creek in Glen Burnie, which overran its banks on Tuesday afternoon and flooded nearby businesses. (Pamela Wood/Baltimore Sun staff)
- A tow truck driver moves vehicles to a dry section of the lot as flood water recedes Tuesday from a section of BWI’s long term parking Lot A. (Kim Hairston/The Baltimore Sun)
- Clifton McCrary of Baltimore pushes a car through a flooded South Hanover St. before Reedbird Ave. in Baltimore on Tuesday afternoon. McCrary pushed around a dozen cars through the water and helped direct traffic until the water level lowered. (Al Drago/Baltimore Sun)
- Indian youth jump into the flooded river Ganga as water levels of the River Ganga increase in Allahabad on August 11, 2014. Heavy rain in several areas of north India has caused rivers to reach the danger mark and flooding has occurred in various places. (Sanjay Kanojia/AFP/Getty Images)
- Indian youth jump into the flooded river Ganga as water levels of the River Ganga increase in Allahabad on August 11, 2014. Heavy rain in several areas of north India has caused rivers to reach the danger mark and flooding has occurred in various places. (Sanjay Kanojia/AFP/Getty Images
- Vehicles sit submerged in water along I-75 August 12, 2014 in Royal Oak, Michigan. Severe rain from yesterday’s storm flooded local streets, highways, and homes in the Detroit Metropolitan area experiencing the worst flash flooding in decades. (Photo by Joshua Lott/Getty Images)
- Vehicles sit submerged in water along I-75 August 12, 2014 in Royal Oak, Michigan. Severe rain from yesterday’s storm flooded local streets, highways, and homes in the Detroit Metropolitan area experiencing the worst flash flooding in decades. (Photo by Joshua Lott/Getty Images)
- A vehicle sits submerged in water along I-75 August 12, 2014 in Royal Oak, Michigan. Severe rain from yesterday’s storm flooded local streets, highways, and homes in the Detroit Metropolitan area experiencing the worst flash flooding in decades. (Photo by Joshua Lott/Getty Images)
- Michigan State Police Officers check a flooded underpass by boat along Interstate-75 and Interstate 696 for vehicles and victims August 12, 2014 in Hazel Park, Michigan. Sever rain from yesterday’s storm flooded local streets, highways, and homes in the Detroit Metropolitan area experiencing the worst flash flooding in decades. (Photo by Joshua Lott/Getty Images)
- Michigan State Police Officers check a flooded underpass along Interstate-75 and Interstate 696 for vehicles and victims August 12, 2014 in Hazel Park, Michigan. Sever rain from yesterday’s storm flooded local streets, highways, and homes in the Detroit Metropolitan area experiencing the worst flash flooding in decades. (Photo by Joshua Lott/Getty Images)
- Michigan State Police Officers watches as other officers check a flooded underpass by boat along Interstate-75 and Interstate 696 for vehicles and victims August 12, 2014 in Hazel Park, Michigan. Sever rain from yesterday’s storm flooded local streets, highways, and homes in the Detroit Metropolitan area experiencing the worst flash flooding in decades. (Photo by Joshua Lott/Getty Images)
Elsewhere, near-record rainfall has caused massive flooding in the Detroit area that is blamed for at least one death and has made roads impassable, swamped vehicles and flooded basements, officials said.
The heaviest rain since 1925 engulfed the area on Monday, the second-wettest day on record, according to the National Weather Service.