Rushing Water From Flash Flooding Traps Drivers In Prince George's County

PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, MD — Upwards of 4 inches of rain fell from a slow-moving storm right before Monday night's rush hour in Prince George's County, causing flash flooding. The hardest hit areas were Bladensburg, Landover Hills and Riverdale.

Some drivers were briefly trapped in their vehicles by rushing water that reached up to their car windows. Olufunmi Lola Johnson told WTOP she was working in an office building in the 6000 block of Kenilworth Avenue when she was told the parking lot was flooding. So she hustled outside to try and save her pickup truck, but ended up trapped.

“The car wouldn’t move. I was stuck in the car,” Johnson said. “You can see my clothes are wet. The water got to my chest.”

Thankfully, a man saw Johnson and forced her door open to help set her free. She said the water was nearly 5 feet high at the time she was rescued. Johnson and her rescuer then helped another woman who was trapped in her vehicle by pulling her through the car window.

The Prince George’s County Fire Department also reported making a couple of water rescues from people trapped in their vehicles that had stalled in swirling flood water.

"It started carrying my car literally down the trail right there," Kimberly Moreno told NBC Washington about the flood waters. "I'm relieved, but also stressed because now I gotta deal with all the car stuff. I just feel kind of in shock and I want to cry and it's just a lot, like, overwhelmed,"

A flash flooding warning had been issued Monday afternoon through 7 p.m. and more flash flooding could occur Tuesday, reports FOX5DC.

A hazardous weather outlook is in effect for the Maryland portion of the Chesapeake Bay, Tidal Potomac River, and I-95 corridor through central Maryland, northern Virginia and District of Columbia for Tuesday.