Prince George’s County started cleaning up Friday after the some of the worst flooding in recent memory.
Officials are trying to determine the cost of the damage done to the County Administration building, which was closed for a second day Friday. Damage to the six-story building appeared to be confined to the ground floor, which deputy chief administrative officer Bradford Seamon said he hopes will be able to open on Monday morning.
Meanwhile, officials are planning for temporary work spaces for departments based out of the ground floor of the CAB, including: Office of Community Relations, Office of Information and Technology, Office of Land Records, and the Clerk of the Circuit Court, where residents go to get their marriage licenses.
Water on the ground floor was 18 to 24 inches high and even after doors were opened to drain the building two inches remained. All carpet and some other flooring will have to be replaced. Workers also are checking to make sure electric outlets were not damaged by the water.
Cindy Prestandrea, CEO of Prince George’s County Community Federal Credit Union, was allowed inside the county building Friday to remove sensitive documents and money from the credit union’s ground floor space.
“It’s demolished,” Prestandrea said of the building’s interior. “We’ve had this branch open in here since 1970, so we’re very emotional about this.”
Flood-related problems persisted throughout the county Friday. Donnell Long, owner of Old Town Inn in Upper Marlboro, couldn’t make it to work Thursday because all roads leading into town were closed or flooded.
Water Street, the main route into Upper Marlboro from Route 4, was under 8 feet of water on Thursday afternoon, and remained flooded Friday.
“I’ve never seen it this bad,” Long said. “We get floods here all the time, and it wasn’t even this bad after Hurricane Irene.”
Prince George’s has been hit hard by a series of the natural disasters over the last two weeks, each time suffering some of the worst damages in the Washington region.
“An earthquake, hurricane, and now a flood,” Long said. “It’s pretty scary to be honest.”
