US: Rainstorm leads to flooding of White House basement; vehicles get submerged on roads

As water gushed into the press workspace in the basement near the White House’s West Wing, government employees worked to drain puddles of stagnant water with wet vacs, reports said.

Flooding is seen in the basement of the White House briefing room in Washington, DC, on July 8, 2019, as widespread dangerous flash flooding was occurring throughout the DC metro area, including in downtown Washington DC. (Photo by NICHOLAS KAMM / AFP)

New Delhi: A heavy rainstorm which lashed the Washington DC of United States on Monday, led to the flooding of the basement of the White House. The rainstorm washed out roads , stranded drivers and soaked the basements of the city, throwing the morning commute out of gear. As water gushed into the press workspace in the basement near the White House’s West Wing, government employees worked to drain puddles of stagnant water with wet vacs, reports said. The widespread flash-flood occurred throughout the DC metro area including in the downtown. As per reports, the National Weather Service meteorologist Cody Ledbetter said the storm dumped about 6.3 inches of rain near Frederick, Maryland, about 4.5 inches near Arlington, Virginia, and about 3.4 inches at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in a two-hour period. Water levels at Cameron Run in Alexandria, Virginia, a flood-prone area along the Capital Beltway, rose more than 7 feet over 30 minutes after 9 a.m., according to the weather service. Four Mile Run, which runs through Arlington and Alexandria, saw a similar increase, the Associated Press said. Heavy rainfall flooded the intersection of 15th Street and Constitution Ave., NW, stalling cars in the street, Monday, July 8, 2019, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) Emergency workers used boats for picking people from flooded cars.  Any storm-related injury was however not reported. The daily commute was brought to a halt as high-level water got collected on streets and roads.