Torrential rain lashed Washington DC and surrounding areas on Monday, flooding many neighborhoods and hobbling electricity and transportation networks.

The National Weather Service issued a Flash Flood Warning as the storm hit, drowning roads and forcing closures of many major arteries. Airports and rail networks were also hit, causing delays.

The American capital's Ronald Reagan airport received 3.3 inches (around 83 millimeters) of rainfall in just one hour, the NWS added in a tweet.

Dramatic footage aired on local TV stations and posted on social media showed vehicles submerged on roads near major landmarks like the Washington Monument, and some motorists standing on the roofs of their cars as the floodwaters rose.

One such video showed water gushing down through a hole in the roof of a Washington metro station.

The main power vault of the National Archives building -- which houses some of the most important documents in American history -- was flooded, cutting power as the streets around it were submerged.

"The building's flood walls deployed and worked," the institution said in a statement.

"The Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights -- along with all of the permanently valuable records stored in the building -- are safe and not in any danger."

The White House was not spared either: Footage posted by several correspondents and outlets showed puddles forming in one of its basements.

Emergency services said they received dozens of calls from citizens seeking help. Despite the widespread flooding, no deaths were reported.

The rainfall and floodwaters subsided later in the day, as damage assessments began in the District of Columbia -- where Washington is located -- and neighboring parts of Virginia and Maryland.

Hundreds of customers were affected by power outages because of the rainfall, according to a live map on the website of local utility Pepco.

"Stay clear of downed power lines and always assume they are energized," it said in a tweet.

qan/rma

PEPCO HOLDINGS

Related Links
Bringing Order To A World Of Disasters
When the Earth Quakes
A world of storm and tempest

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The Space Media Network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceMediaNetwork Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceMediaNetwork Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

More than a million ordered to shelters in rain-hit Japan
Tokyo (AFP) July 3, 2019
Japanese authorities have issued evacuation orders for more than one million people in southern parts of the country hit by heavy rains, a year after deadly floods that killed more than 200 people. Small landslides were already being reported in parts of the affected area, public broadcaster NHK reported. It said a total of 1.1 million people in Kagoshima and Miyazaki prefectures, on the island of Kyushu, had been ordered to shelters. Landslides swept away several cars and buried a house in ... read more