Watch: Flash floods submerge vehicles as heavy rain lashes Washington DC; rescue ops under way

Torrential rainfall on Saturday caused flash flooding across Washington DC and parts of neighbouring Maryland and Virginia, prompting multiple emergency rescue operations, officials confirmed.Some areas, including densely populated suburbs like Silver Spring, recorded more than 5 inches of rain. Several major roads in Montgomery, Prince George’s, and Anne Arundel counties in Maryland, as well as in Fairfax County, Virginia, became impassable by Saturday evening. In northwest DC, floodwaters submerged parked vehicles.Pete Piringer, spokesperson for Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service, said crews responded to numerous calls and rescued dozens of people, including several trapped inside vehicles surrounded by rising water.

“No injuries were reported,” he added.Flood sensors showed that Sligo Creek, which flows through Montgomery and Prince George’s counties and parts of the capital, rose by 10 feet in just 30 minutes.In Great Falls, Virginia, about 17 miles from DC, seven people were rescued from a vehicle caught in swift-moving water, according to Fairfax County Fire and Rescue. The New York Times reported no injuries in that incident either.

By 9 pm, most of the severe weather had passed, although isolated showers remained possible. Flood warnings were still in effect late Saturday for parts of southern Montgomery County, northern Fairfax County, and sections of Washington DC.