Dangerous flash flooding forced search and rescue operations in multiple states Tuesday, including boat rescues at a Maryland elementary school and a search for a 12-year-old boy swept away by floodwaters in Virginia.
The boy was caught in rushing water at around 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, after a nearby creek had overtaken a roadway about 20 miles from Charlottesville, according to a 911 caller, Albemarle County Fire public information officer Logan Bogert told CNN in a statement. The department identified the boy as Jordan Sims.
Crews found a body believed to be the missing boy at around 8:45 a.m. Wednesday, the fire department confirmed.
The National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning for parts of Albemarle County less than an hour before the boy was swept away. The county saw between 4 to 6 inches of rain from Monday afternoon through Tuesday night.
Gushing rainfall also forced rapid rises on nearby rivers. Water levels on the Mechums River — located just a few miles from where the child was last seen — rose about a foot per hour on Tuesday afternoon and ultimately topped out 5 feet above flood stage by midnight.
Farther north, in Allegany County, Maryland, Alley Wade was at work when she heard that her sons’ school was flooded and rescues were underway.
She was 30 minutes away, and when she finally came within blocks of Westernport Elementary School, she was told by a police officer she couldn’t go any further, causing her to go into panic mode.
“It was very scary,” Wade told CNN. “I actually had a panic attack.”
She eventually got to a location where she was able to see her oldest son William, 10, being rescued by a boat. She waved and called out to him, but it took her a while to be reunited with both her children, including her youngest son, Quinton, 8, who was also rescued.
Her sons were among approximately 150 students and 50 adults evacuated using 15 rescue boats Tuesday as heavy rains brought flooding to the region, the county’s emergency services department said.
The children said they saw water close to the ceiling of the first floor of the school while being evacuated. By the end of the day, their pants were pulled up to their knees and their shoes were sopping wet. But they were OK.
Once they were all reunited at a local church, William was upset, and “clingy,” not that she minded, but his younger brother, Quinton, said he had fun, reassuring her after the long ordeal.
“His quote was ‘I had the time of my life, until the teacher wouldn’t give us a snack out of the snack bin,’” she said.
Wade added that teachers at the school lost their cars in the floodwaters. Video she shared with CNN shows several vehicles floating in high waters in the parking lot.
Wade said she had never experienced flooding like Tuesday’s before, but her husband had back in 1996.
Those evacuated are safe and no injuries were reported, Kati Kenney, spokesperson for Allegany County’s emergency services department, said. No other schools were affected, but there were reports of people trapped in homes and cars, she added.
“Water rescue teams from surrounding counties are actively assisting with response efforts,” Kenney said, adding that the Georges Creek region remains an area of concern for emergency responders.
Georges Creek reached moderate flood level at 12.12 feet as of 5 p.m. ET Tuesday. It rose more than 7 feet in six hours. Major flooding begins as 12 feet and the record is 12.77 feet in 1996.
A flash flood emergency was issued in the areas of Westernport and Barton, Maryland as well as Piedmont, West Virginia, according to the National Weather Service.
Additional rounds of rain are expected daily through at least Saturday as a soggy pattern continues in the Mid-Atlantic.
A flash flood warning was also issued in Grantsville, Maryland, as well as Keyser and Piedmont, West Virginia, according to the National Weather Service. Moderate rain showers were pushing toward the north and northwest in the region, with some areas seeing three to four inches of rain.
Westernport Mayor Judy Hamilton told the Associated Press that the town has been prone to severe flooding in the past, and the last time the town suffered devastating flooding was in 1996.
But officials weren’t expecting it Tuesday.
“It just seemed to happen all at once,” she told the AP. “My heart is breaking.”
Hamilton said she’s trying to get in touch with Maryland Gov. Wes Moore to request emergency assistance.
Motorists and pedestrians struggle in flooded streets
Videos posted on social media showed flooded streets with vehicles floating in the knee-high water in Cumberland, Maryland.
Other videos showed intense flooding impacting Westernport and Lavale, Maryland, just outside of Cumberland. Motorists struggled to drive in poor road conditions as water reached closer to structures, and water can be heard in the videos rushing over roadways.
In Somerset County, Pennsylvania, video from CNN affiliate WJAC showed heavy rain and flooded streets.
CNN’s Julianna Bragg and CNN Meteorologist Brandon Miller contributed to this report.
