Evening star., 1952-09-02
Storm Damage
Put in Hundreds
OF 0fThousands
so Families Who Fled
Homes Return After
Prince Georges Flood

turning to normal today after a
costly experience with the tail
end of a tropical hurricane.
Wind and water damage from
nights blow amounted to
hundreds of thousands of dollars.
some of it visible in wrecked
and flooded homes, the other
figured in less tangible costs.
More than. so families removed
from their lowland homes in
Prince Georges County were able
to return today. Most of them
were picked up by boat-manning
f1remen yesterday from North
Brentwood, Bladensburg and
Riverdale sections.
Motorists Detained.
Water had receded from almost
all points except the Peace Cross
intersection. A traffic snag held
up motorists this morning on
Rhode Island avenue, Edmunston
road and Kennilworth avenue.
One motorists reported he made
three miles in 40 minutes.
All Rock Greek Park roads, closed
last night after fresh waters from
Maryland flooded them, were re-
opened to traffic this morning.
This was true with all other points
impossible yesterday.
Seneca Greek became a lake be.
tween Darnestown and Dawson
vile in Montgomery County, after
a cloudburst only yesterday. At
the Seneca crossing of Route %,
dozens of cars were stalled during
the day by rising water.
Seneca Greek is in the same
watershed as the Patapsco River
which overflowed at Ellicott City.
Cooler Temperature Forecast.
Weather Bureau officials re-
ported BAT inches of rain for the
24-hour period ending at $50
am. yesterday. More rain was
in prospect for tonight, but it
probably will be of a more gentle
mature.
A sharp temperature drop, from
a predicted 90 this afternoon to IS
degrees tonight, was forecast by
the bureau.
Tomorrow should be clearing,
with cooler temperatures just un-
der 80 degrees, the bureau said.
Potomac Electric Power Co. had
restored electricity to hundreds of
homes darkened early Monday by
falling wires. Pepco had IS Of
its own crews and six others under
contract repairing the damage.
Power failures ranged from q
relatively short time to such lapses
as 13 hours reported by a house.
holder living in blacked out area
between Brookville road and
Rollingwood drive in Chevy
Chase, Md.
Capital Transit also had its
minor disruptions ironed out
again. The Peace Cross flood kept
the Cheverly (Md.) line closed for
a while this morning. Service
was restored earlier to the Cabin
John line. blocked for a while by
mud, and to the Riverdale line.
Franconia Cleaning Up.
The work of cleaning up the
hardest hit areas at Franconia.
Va. and Potomac, Md, was un-
der way. Several homes in those
areas were either destroyed or
badly damaged by winds that hit
70 to 100 miles an hour. q
Not reported in yesterdays
storm account was the damage
to the Williamsburg Colonial
home of Dr.. Rollin S. Atwood.
director of the State Depart
ment's Office of South American
Affairs.
The home is situated near Po-
tomac, one-quarter of a mile from
the home of Willmott Lewis.
which also was battered by the
storm. Part of the roof from
the Lewis home landed in DR..
Atwood's yard. Rails from a
fence around the Atwood place
were driven onto the second floor
porch.
Inside the house objects were
swept from closets and water
grasses blown against the kitchen
walls cut grooves two inches deep.
Drapery also was cut by flying
glass.
Take Refuge in Garage.
The two Atwood daughters, Pa
Iricia. 20, and Letitia, IL, were
alone in the home when the storm
struck at 11:40 pm. Awakened
by the noise, they dressed and
went to the garage to sit out the
gale.
While there were no injuries
during the tempest, there were two
near tragedies. In one, Mary
Holmes, Is, colored. OF los Forty
f1rst street NE, was rescued by
firemen when she fell into a swol-
len creek.
In the other, Vernena Thomas.
81 months. fell into flood water
from the flrst-floor window of her
home in Lakeland, Prince Georges
County. She was rescued by fire.
men passing in a boat.
Added to the widespread dam.