Kevin Spradlin
Cumberland Times-News
— CUMBERLAND — Officials in the Georges Creek region are bracing for potential flooding due to a combination of snow melt and rain in the forecast.
Allegany County Board of Education workers spent several hours Wednesday installing flood panels to protect the windows of Westernport and Georges Creek elementary schools. The National Weather Service issued a flood watch effective from 7 p.m. Thursday through Saturday evening.
The flood watch is for portions of Western Maryland, including central, eastern and extreme western Allegany County, as well as western Virginia and northeast West Virginia, which includes parts of Mineral, Pendleton and Grant counties.
Westernport Elementary School Principal Gary Stein said Thursday that workers checked to ensure all drains were clear of debris.
“The flood panels are put up when there’s a possibility of flooding,” Stein said. “They tell me it won’t stop the water going in so much, but it will stop debris (and) stop breakage of windows.”
Dick DeVore, chief of the Allegany County Emergency Management Division, said up until now the area has seen “a slow snow melt” but he expected high temperatures — possibly reaching 60 degrees or higher — will cause faster melting. DeVore briefed the Allegany County Board of Commissioners on Thursday during their weekly public meeting in Cumberland.
DeVore said this weekend’s forecast calls for up to 3 inches of rainfall and the possibility of 8 inches of water content already on the ground melting.
“It could lead us to a significant flooding event,” DeVore said.
The primary concern is Georges Creek and areas west of Cumberland, DeVore said. He said county officials already have reached out to first-responders and local officials to ensure adequate awareness and that sufficient resources will be available.
“Flooding is a lot like other events from a preparedness standpoint,” DeVore said.
He encouraged residents to have an emergency preparedness kit on hand and have available an alternative means of heat if power goes out. DeVore said people should avoid walking or driving through standing water.
Vince Montana, director of facilities maintenance for the Allegany County Board of Education, is charged with supervising flood preparations on school properties across the county. Stein praised the public school system and workers’ efforts to keep the buildings and the people safe.
“They’ve put up the panels many times before and nothing’s happened,” said Stein, a vice principal in the mid-1980s when Oldtown School was flooded. “I’m glad they watch over us. They don’t take chances.”
Stein said he routinely eyes the Potomac River during his daily commute from his LaVale residence to Westernport. On Thursday morning, it looked “a little swollen.”
“I kinda keep watch when we have a warning or anything like that,” Stein said. “Off (state Route) 135, the river is up pretty far. I don’t know. It’s got a ways to go to get over to our school. Water is funny. It can go in different directions.”
For more emergency preparedness information, log on to the county Web site at http://gov.allconet.org/DPSHS/index.htm.
Kevin Spradlin can be reached at kspradlin@times-news.com.
