Part of Prince George’s County’s main government building is scheduled to reopen on Tuesday, after workers spent Monday mopping up the mess from major flooding last week.
The home for the Prince George’s executive and legislative branches and a host of other county government functions, the County Administration Building remained closed Monday with no assessment of the damage yet available from the 2 feet of water that poured into the ground floor, according to Bradford Seamon, deputy chief administrative officer for the county.
The county has flood insurance for the building with coverage for up to $50 million in damage, according to spokesman Scott Peterson.
| Mother Nature’s fury |
| Aug. 23: A 5.8-magnitude earthquake hits the Washington region, closing dozens of Prince George’s County Public Schools for days. One Capitol Heights elementary school remains closed because of earthquake damage. |
| Aug. 27-28: Hurricane Irene sweeps through the region, leaving thousands of BGE and Pepco customers in Prince George’s County without power for days. |
| Sept. 7-8: Deadly rains flood dozens of Prince George’s County roads and businesses and leave more than 2 feet of standing water inside the County Administration Building. |
The top five levels of the administration building is scheduled to reopen to employees and the public on Tuesday, with the ground floor still closed.
Crews in Upper Marlboro had worked throughout the weekend in an attempt to reopen the building by Monday, to no avail.
Employees wearing white surgical masks were allowed inside on Monday to gather their work and personal belongings, as some worked from home or other office space in the county.
Rocked by an earthquake, a hurricane and now flooding, Prince George’s County has felt the brunt of Mother Nature’s wrath over the past few weeks.
The combined natural disasters have officials hoping the worst is over, as County Executive Rushern Baker’s staff has been cleaning up the mess left behind.
The earthquake damaged 37 schools, and Hurricane Irene left thousands of customers without power for days.
Then the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee soaked the Washington region, dumping as much as 10 inches of rain on Thursday alone.
Cindy Prestandrea, CEO of Prince George’s County Community Federal Credit Union, went back to the administration building on 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 here since 1970, so we’re very emotional about this.”
Repairs are still being made to the building’s heating and cooling systems and elevators, and all electrical outlets on the ground floor must be inspected before full power can be turned back on. Officials fumigated the building to prevent mold and mildew from forming.
The Clerk of the Circuit Court, which handles land records and marriage licenses, had been swamped by the flooding, but officials will reopen those offices in the annex building next the administrative building.
For the residents and businesses of the small town, the flooding took away much of the foot traffic usually provided by the county’s employees.
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. Business lagged as the administration building remained closed.
“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.”
