Maryland counties confront a variety of hazardous conditions as a result of Hurricane Sandy and a powerful coldfront, nicknamed “Frankenstorm.” Power outages throughout the state reached about 300,000 on Monday evening, according to the Baltimore Sun,
- Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. reported more than 180,000 customers without power. Harford County has the largest number of customers without power — about 48,900 — though Baltimore County was not far behind, with about 47,300 customers without power.
- Pepco, which serves Washington and its Maryland suburbs, was reporting about 15,500 of its customers without power.
- Delmarva Power, which serves the Delmarva peninsula, was reporting about 50,000 customers without power in its Maryland service areas at that time. Choptank Electric Cooperative was also reporting about 11,000 customers without power in the Maryland portion of the Delmarva peninsula.
Two deaths in Maryland have been associated with the storm, as reported by WBAL TV,
The storm is blamed for the death of a car accident victim in Germantown, Montgomery County, and for the death of a man entrapped in his house in Anne Arundel County after a tree crashed through the roof.
Maryland’s western counties, Garrett and Allegany, were severely affected by blizzard conditions including dramatic snowfall. As reported,
More than 2 feet of snow fell in parts of Garrett and Allegany counties as the remnants of Hurricane Sandy collided with a cold front backed by polar air, closing east- and westbound sections of Interstate 68 in Western Maryland until late Tuesday morning.
In Garrett County many remain without power as snow continues to fall, and Allegany County’s emergency operations center has been inundated with calls from citizens, according to CBS news.
In Garrett County, Md., 17,000 customers are without power after nearly 2.5 feet of snow fell. . . Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald said that about 400 calls came into the Emergency Operations Center for downed trees and power lines and power outages.
Allegany County and Garrett County offices were closed Monday and both counties cancelled early voting and transit operations due to weather. Allegany County offices opened Tuesday, and are re-starting transit operations and early voting today. Garrett County remains closed today and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) states that a winter storm warning is in effect there until this evening.
Meanwhile, on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, Fox news reports that hundreds of people were displaced by floodwaters in Ocean City and in Crisfield after the superstorm. According Delmarvanow.com, flooding in Crisfield created a crisis situation,
City residents who spent a frightening night trapped in their homes by rising flood waters were moved to safety Tuesday morning during a door-to-door search and rescue operation manned by local firefighters, police and Maryland National Guard troops. . .
“This is the storm of the century,” said Mayor Percy Purnell. “Nobody expected it.”