Gov. Martin O?Malley became the public face of Maryland?s flooding response efforts Monday.
But with no evacuations to speak of, there was little for the governor to do but cheer on the frontline workers.
“You on top of it?” O?Malley called out at the statewide highway operations center in Hanover south of the airport around noon, as a series of images from highway cameras around the state flashed on 25 monitors. “I?m here to double-check.”
O?Malley got a briefing on road conditions from the operations center, which is staffed 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The staff monitors 300 cameras on state highways around the state, including local cameras in Harford, Montgomery and Prince George?s counties. There were more personnel on hand Monday as Maryland moved to emergency level 2.
O?Malley was briefed by transportation officials, state police who have a permanent presence at the center, emergency management directors and a National Guard officer. The Maryland Emergency Management Agency also increased staffing at its Joint Operations Center in Reisterstown. There are also satellite operations at State Police barracks around the state.
“We should be seeing tides some 2 to 3 feet higher from what we should anticipate,” O?Malley said, sounding like a weatherman. The Potomac and Monocacy rivers are expected to crest today, and flooding from the Susquehanna River basin in Pennsylvania could peak Wednesday.
Low-lying areas could experience tidal surges, but with winds cooperating, “we are hoping that we will not see the sort of sloshing bathtub effect” that the coastal areas experienced during Hurricane Isabel, O?Malley said.
At the moment, “we don?t plan for any evacuations,” he added.
