Flash flooding forces evacuation of elementary school in western
Maryland
[May 14, 2025]
By LEA SKENE
BALTIMORE (AP) — Flooding in rural western Maryland forced the
evacuation of an elementary school Tuesday afternoon as water began to
breach the second floor, according to local officials.
Homes and businesses in downtown Westernport were also inundated with
floodwaters after hours of heavy rain.
Officials reassured the public that students and staff were safe as
concerned parents and other community members posted on social media
wondering how long the emergency situation would last at Westernport
Elementary School.
Allegany County spokesperson Kati Kenney said responders used rescue
boats to safely evacuate the school. About 150 students and 50 adults
were evacuated during 15 boat trips.
Kenney said additional evacuations were underway in nearby areas, with
reports of people trapped in cars and houses, but no injuries had been
reported as of late Tuesday afternoon. She said emergency crews from
surrounding counties were helping with the response in the small
community near the West Virginia line.
Another elementary school was also evacuated, and students at a middle
school were sheltering in place, the Allegany County Department of
Emergency Services said Tuesday evening. Officials said three emergency
shelters had been opened across the county.
Aaron Stallings, rushed to Westernport Elementary to pick up his little
sister earlier Tuesday afternoon, but he soon realized his car wouldn’t
make it. Stallings said he hopped a fence and made his way on foot
through the shin-deep water.
“I knew my car was not going to get through, so I had to find an
alternate route,” he said.
Stallings said children were being kept on the second and third floors
when he made his way inside. Minutes after he located his sister with
the help of the principal, the water level on the first floor had
already risen again to his knees and was rushing under the school doors.
Once he waded back outside with his sister, Stallings turned around to
capture video of the scene, where parked cars and a dumpster were
floating through the school’s parking lot.
Alley Wade also left work early when she heard about flooding downtown.
She and her husband hoped to pick up their two sons, ages 8 and 10, but
they couldn’t get to the school because roads were already closed.
Instead, they spent most of the afternoon standing around in the rain
anxiously watching the floodwaters rise.
“It was stressful because I felt so helpless,” Wade said.
The family was finally reunited after the students had been evacuated.
Wade said there were a lot of crying kids, but thankfully everyone was
safe.
[to top of second column]
|
Cars are submerged in a parking lot of Westernport Elementary School
as flooding forces the evacuation of the school, and downtown homes
and businesses were inundated with rising floodwaters in rural
Westernport, Md., Tuesday, May 13, 2025. (Aaron Stallings via AP)
Roads throughout the area were closed due to flooding, including major
arteries, according to the Allegany County Sheriff’s Office.
Westernport Mayor Judy Hamilton said the town has been prone to severe
flooding in the past, but they weren’t expecting it today.
“It just seemed to happen all at once,” she said. “My heart is
breaking.”
She said the evacuated students were taken to higher ground and
sheltered in a church building, where they would be kept safe by
teachers and staff until their parents could pick them up.
With a population under 2,000 people, Westernport is located in the far
corner of western Maryland. Its downtown took shape in a valley where
George’s Creek flows into the North Branch Potomac River.
The National Weather Service reported widespread flash flooding in the
area Tuesday afternoon.
“We are closely monitoring the flood conditions that are present across
Western Maryland due to heavy rainfall, especially in Allegany County,”
Gov. Wes Moore said in a social media post, adding that the state and
local authorities were actively responding to the inundation.
Hamilton said the last time Westernport suffered from devastating floods
was in 1996.
“But we’re strong and we always build back,” she said.
In West Virginia, Gov. Patrick Morrisey declared a state of emergency
Tuesday night in Mineral County, along the Maryland border, due to
severe storms and heavy rains that resulted in flash flooding. The
declaration allows the state to mobilize personnel and resources to the
area.
___
Associated Press newsgathering producer Beatrice Dupuy in New York and
reporter John Raby in Charleston, West Virginia, contributed to this
story.
All contents © copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved
 |
