Heavy Rain Forces Evacuations, Causes Floods Across Area

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Sights and Sounds of Tropical Storm Hanna

Despite Tropical Storm Hanna's downpour, locals and tourists tried to go about their day in Washington, D.C. The situation was worse in the Huntington area of Fairfax County, where 114 homes were evacuated because of flooding.

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Joan Morris, a spokeswoman for the Virginia Department of Transportation, said the street would probably remain closed even after the water subsided. "There's going to be a lot of debris to clean up," she said.

In Sterling, water from a nearby stream rose up to cover Maudud Alam's back yard, and then seeped into his house, reaching four inches high in two rooms.

"Water has never risen this high before," said Alam, 65, an art restorer. Alam said he has asked Loudoun County repeatedly to dredge the stream -- which he said floods frequently -- with no success.

Fairfax County engineers were inspecting the Pohick Creek dam late last night. A temporary spillway was constructed there yesterday to avoid the possibility of water flowing over the top of the dam, said Fitzgerald, the county spokeswoman.

As yesterday went on, the storm's center -- more of a rainy blob than a well-defined eye -- moved east across the lower Chesapeake Bay. In Ocean City, large waves crashed on tourists scampering on a boardwalk. On Maryland's low-lying Smith Island, the water was four inches deep on the main drag, Caleb Jones Road, and threatening the Methodist church's basement.

In St. Michaels, Md., the heavy rain brought water, and paddling ducks, nearly to the doorstep of the St. Michaels Crab and Steak House. That was in late afternoon, when high tide hadn't arrived.

"We still have five hours" until the tide peaks, owner Eric S. Rosen said. "If we have five hours, and you can't get in the front door now . . . " His thought trailed off.

But, as bad as Hanna was, officials across the region were also talking about what it wasn't. Unlike Isabel, yesterday's storm did not cause serious flooding near Annapolis's downtown City Dock.

"Right now, it's basically just a very wet weather event," said Edward Hopkins, chief of staff at the Maryland Emergency Management Agency. "It just appears to be a large-scale thunderstorm."

And so, amid the various watches and warnings from the National Weather Service, many people in the region tried to treat yesterday like a regular day. In the District, tourists browsed Smithsonian museums and piled onto tour buses, although they stayed away from the open-air second decks. At Temple Sinai in Northwest Washington, Hanna Samet's bat mitzvah went on despite the pounding rain.

"I thought it was hilarious that Hanna was coming," said Samet, 13. "I like what my cousin said: 'It's Hanna versus Hanna.' "

And even at the city's waterfront, right next to the churning Potomac, some people braved the rain to buy shrimp, crabs and tuna.

"I come here once or twice a month," said Neta Williams, 28, after buying two pounds of shrimp. She said she was unfazed by the weather. "I think it's going to blow over."

In the end, it did, heading toward Long Island and New England. Today's forecast for Washington: mostly sunny, with a high near 88.