Ernesto Leaves Thousands in the Dark

Some in Region Told to Evacuate

Photos
Ernesto Floods East Coast Cities
What was left of Tropical Storm Ernesto slowly moved north after delivering a heavy lashing of rain and wind to the Washington area.

What was left of Tropical Storm Ernesto delivered a heavy lashing of rain and wind to the Washington area throughout the day yesterday, prompting officials to order evacuations, declare states of emergency and open shelters.

The brunt of the problem in Washington and its immediate suburbs appeared to be power outages caused by the high winds. Nearly 40,000 homes and businesses in Northern Virginia were without power last night. About 80,000 customers in the District and Maryland were in the dark.

"Do all you can to stay inside. Don't go out if you don't have to," Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) said yesterday afternoon in what seemed to become a battle cry among area emergency officials as the weather intensified.

State and local emergency officials opened operations centers across the region in case major flooding and power outages called for additional evacuations or rescues. But most never had to fully activate. They had expected a pummeling but got a slap. By late afternoon, the storm had been downgraded, and the rain estimates had dropped from the four to eight inches forecast.

By last night, one to two inches of rain had fallen in most of the region, the National Weather Service said. St. Mary's County, however, received nearly six inches, and the Shenandoah Valley got almost four. More rain was expected overnight.

Sustained winds at Reagan National Airport last night were about 30 mph with gusts of more than 40 mph.

For many of the region's residents, the whole thing was mostly a nuisance -- little more than a delay to an early Labor Day weekend. But in areas south and east of the District, the storm will be remembered for a long time.

Norfolk and other Hampton Roads communities received more than six inches of rain, flooding low-lying areas and knocking out power to more than 200,000 customers. In Richmond, more than 200 homes were evacuated, and more than 90,000 customers lacked power.

For others still recovering from the June storm that brought as much as 13 inches of rain to the region, the threat was enough to send them stockpiling sandbags.

"I think people are apprehensive because we don't know how serious this storm is going to be," said Brian Hannigan, a spokesman for Alexandria, which experienced major flooding in June. "Four inches is a lot, and eight inches is a real lot."

Meteorologist Luis Rosa of the National Weather Service in Sterling said the threat of flash flooding had greatly diminished by yesterday afternoon, but a swelled Potomac River meant that coastal flooding would remain a possibility through the night. High tide was set for 2 a.m. Fairfax County opened a shelter at Edison High School as a precaution.

Locally, Southern Maryland appeared to be hardest hit. Mark O'Brien awoke yesterday at his St Mary's home to a flooded yard, and he knew instantly it was the beginning of something terrible. By noon, he and his girlfriend had moved one car a half-mile inland. By afternoon, the lights and phone lines had gone out. So, with the last few hours of the daylight fading, they frantically stacked all their possessions on tables and couches -- all the while keeping an eye on the waves sloshing on what used to be their lawn.