Flooding washes out roads, forces evacuations in Salisbury

Heavy rainfall in the early morning on Saturday resulted in standing water and washed out roads in Salisbury, and forced some people out of their homes.

The city of Salisbury said in a news release that high water forced the evacuation and condemnation of several units in the Canal Woods complex, where residents had to be evacuated after flooding last fall. In September, a storm flooded first floor apartments and washed out many Delmarva roads.

Two roads in the city caved in, including N. West Road just north of the Isabella Street intersection, where there was a small washout on the right side of the northbound lane, and Bell Island Trail, with a washout curb to curb, the city said.

READ MORE: Donations sought for families displaced in flooding

Additionally, the city said Northwood Drive at Kiley Drive was underwater Saturday evening.

Due to standing water and the potential for more rain, the National Weather Service in Wakefield, Virginia, issued an extended flood warning for Salisbury until 9 p.m.

Mike Rusnak, a meteorologist with the weather service, said an estimated 4 to 8 inches of rain fell in the area after midnight Friday, leading to dozens of road closures due to high water and a number of roads washed out and impassable.

"There's a lot of standing water blocking roads right now," Rusnak said. "That has led us to put out an extended warning until 9 p.m.

"It's going to take hours for water to recede off the roads."

Possibly making the problem worse is the potential for more rain today and tonight, he said – though not to the degree the city faced early Saturday morning.

"It's not that we're expecting further storms of a really serious nature but, when there's already so much water flooding the area, anything added to that just compounds the problem," he said.

Around noon, the Salisbury Fire Department issued a tweet that it was responding to a report of a flood with electrical hazards on Canal Park Drive in Salisbury.

Also around noon, the Worcester County Fire Department tweeted a warning to "don't drown, turn around."

"Roads are becoming covered with standing and running water," it read. "Use caution."

According to a 1 p.m. Facebook post made by Wicomico County Emergency Services, some locations that will experience flooding are: Salisbury, Fruitland, Salisbury University, Hebron, Parsonsburg, Pittsville, Willards, Bishop, Salisbury-Wicomico, Bishopville, Lakewood, Chesapeake Heights, Showell, Whaleyville, Melson and Shad Point.