Isaias Packs Punch That Lingers in St. Mary’s
Piney Point. Photo by Rashelle Wilcox
St. Mary’s County Commissioner President James R. Guy declared a State of Emergency on Tuesday to run for seven days.
CBS Baltimore reports a person died after a tree fell onto a moving vehicle along Three Notch Road near Charlotte Hall School Road in Mechanicsville, MD, Tuesday morning. St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office said the driver was heading south when a tree on the shoulder collapsed, trapping the driver inside.
Trained weather spotters reported 9 inches of rain in St. Mary’s County, according to the Baltimore Sun.
Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative (SMECO) is working to restore power following the damage caused by Tropical Storm Isaias. The impact of heavy rains and high winds caused hundreds of outage incidents. More than 40,000 homes and businesses were affected by power outages. SMECO estimates fewer than 10,000 remained without power as of 5 pm Tuesday and expect the majority of members to have their power restored by Wednesday night. The remainder will have power restored by mid-day on Thursday.
SMECO spokesman Tom Dennison said Tuesday, “SMECO has more than 230 line workers making repairs where trees have fallen and brought down power lines. Additional crews are expected to arrive tomorrow morning. We had 24 substation feeders locked out because of the storm, and as of 5 pm, we still have nine feeders locked out.”
Mr. Dennison added, “Our restoration efforts have been hampered by extensive flooding throughout the area that has closed roads, and in some cases, washed out roads completely.”
The public can track the extent of outages on SMECO’s outage map and find safety information at stormcenter.smeco.coop. The following is a list of helpful tips for customers.
An update on road closures in St. Mary’s County can be found here.
Tropical Storm Isaias involved severe winds, rain, and tidal surges that have caused or continue to cause flooding of low-lying areas, road and culvert damage, power outages, and disruption of services in St. Mary’s County.
Upon declaration of a local state of emergency, the response and recovery aspects and provisions for aid and assistance of the St. Mary’s County Emergency Operations Plan shall become immediately effective. The declaration authorizes the Commissioner President “to take such measures as necessary to maximize the preservation of life and property, including the authority to require evacuation of areas.
By Tuesday afternoon the tropical storm had moved on.