BERLIN – Worcester County continues to deal with flooding following a second weekend of heavy rainfall.
Though Hurricane Matthew primarily impacted the Southeast, the steady rain that fell Saturday and Sunday exacerbated the condition of already waterlogged areas throughout Worcester County. Public schools opened one hour late on Monday as a result of the road conditions. As of Tuesday, standing water continued to cause road closures.
“If a road has barricades or barrels across it residents need to turn around and find an alternate route to get to their destination,” said Worcester County Emergency Services Director Fred Webster.
Webster said drivers who failed to obey road closures created issues throughout the weekend. He said that even once state and county crews had posted barricades, motorists continued to travel on flooded roads.
“Some residents would move the barricades and barrels out of their way,” he said. “Cars and trucks would then drive through the water and become flooded out, requiring fire department rescue crews to go into those same areas to rescue the drivers. This then put the fire crews in danger because of having to get the drivers out of the stranded vehicles.”
While some roads were covered with standing water, others experienced wash-outs. According to Webster Sinepuxent Road, Big Mill Road, Route 12 and Route 113 had sections of road wash-out.
Route 113 had damage at Langmaid Road and at Betheden Church Road. The former has been repaired but one southbound lane of the highway remains closed at Betheden Church Road.
Repairs to Sinepuxent Road are expected to be completed later this week.
Route 12, which was damaged during the Sept. 30 rain, remains closed, as does Big Mill Road near Stockton. Webster says they’ll take longer to repair because of the amount of damage they sustained.
County officials have posted alternate travel routes for motorists who would normally travel Route 12 between Snow Hill and Salisbury online at www.co.worcester.md.us.
