Rain, Winds Ravage Area; Homes Lost, Roads Closed

Fierce winds and a steady rainfall swept across Southern Maryland over the weekend, destroying at least two houses, overwhelming wastewater treatment plants and leaving roads closed in more than 20 locations.

Calvert County, where there was flooding, fallen trees and mudslides, was hit particularly hard by Sunday's storm, which came on the heels of another large storm a day earlier. In Chesapeake Beach on Sunday, a strong gust of wind threw a partially completed house into a neighboring residence, causing both structures to collapse and leaving two people trapped under the wreckage.

"The power went down, and immediately we heard this rumbling. I thought it might have been a waterspout or a tornado," said Michael Hall, 68, who lives next to the two houses. "I'm looking at it thinking, 'What am I looking at?' "

At the Mattawoman Wastewater Treatment Plant in Charles County, massive rainfall combined with power outages caused about 6.6 million gallons of water that had not been disinfected to be discharged into the Potomac River.

The power outages disrupted the ultraviolet disinfection process, which sterilizes bacteria in the water, but the treatment plant had to continue pushing water out so it didn't damage any equipment, said Bill Shreve, acting director of utilities for Charles. He said that the ultraviolet disinfection process is the last step in wastewater treatment, and that the partially treated discharge would not cause environmental damage or health risks.

"Everybody's hurting right now," Shreve said. "This is a major rain event that fell on saturated grounds."

More than 500,000 gallons of partially treated and untreated sewage spilled into the Chesapeake Bay from the Chesapeake Beach Wastewater Treatment Plant in Calvert, and as of 2 p.m. Monday it was still seeping into the bay, according to a county news release. The area recorded more than six inches of rain in 24 hours, according to the statement.

Charles officials reported that at least five motorists became stranded trying to drive through high water.

Schools opened two hours late Monday in St. Mary's County and Calvert, and three schools in the northern part of Calvert closed after losing power.

Trapped beneath the Chesapeake Beach residence in Calvert were Frank and Karen Hudson. Karen Hudson was rescued relatively quickly after firefighters arrived about 10:30 p.m. Sunday, said Bill Freesland, chief of the North Beach Volunteer Fire Department. Frank Hudson was trapped under a pile of wreckage for about two hours and was pulled out by a D.C. unit specializing in collapsed structures, Freesland said.

Both had injuries and were taken to Calvert Memorial Hospital, said neighbors who talked to the pair. Frank Hudson had been released from the hospital by Tuesday night.

Hall said he talked to Frank Hudson on a cellphone while his neighbor was trapped, praying with him and trying to convince him he would make it out alive.