An elementary school in western Maryland was forced to evacuate its students Tuesday after flash flooding waters began to reach the second floor of the building.
There were around 150 students and 50 adults evacuated from Westernport Elementary School in 15 boat trips, per The Associated Press. The evacuation was conducted by local emergency crews.
At 4:40 p.m. on Tuesday, the Allegany County Department of Emergency Services reported that all students and staff members in the school had been safely evacuated to a church in town.
According to USA Today, the floodwaters rose so fast that the children and teachers became trapped inside. Some parents rushed to the school to get their children, but because the water was so high, they had to wait on nearby dry land for the rescue boats to save those in the school.
Homes and businesses in the downtown areas of Westernport were also hit with floodwaters following hours of heavy rain. The town, located around 160 miles west of Baltimore, received flooding after the banks of the North Branch Potomac River and some tributaries burst, per USA Today.
The impact of the flash flooding
Other evacuations took place around the area as people became trapped in cars and houses. As of late Tuesday afternoon, no injuries were reported.
Emergency services crews from surrounding counties came to the areas to help in response to the floods, per the AP.
Another elementary school had to be evacuated and students at a nearby middle school had to shelter in place. There were three emergency shelters opened across Allegany County.
Westernport has a population under 2,000 people and is located in the far corner of western Maryland. The downtown area is set in a valley, per the AP.
Widespread flash flooding in the area was reported by the National Weather Service on Tuesday afternoon.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore posted on X, saying that the state was “closely monitoring the flood conditions.”
Moore posted again later on Tuesday evening, urging precaution from those in the area of the flooding.
The flooding also reached into parts of West Virginia and the state’s governor declared a state of emergency for Mineral County on the Maryland border Tuesday night.
According to the AP, the last time the area suffered from devastating floods of this nature was in 1996.