Storms leave about 200,000 people without power in US capital
Washington, Jul 29 (EFE).- Strong storms and winds, which blew with a force of up to 140 kilometers per hour, left some 200,000 people without electricity Saturday in the United States capital and its metropolitan area, specialized portal PowerOutage US said.
Strong gusts of wind downed trees and power poles in Washington as well as in the two neighboring states: Virginia and Maryland.
EFE could verify that in the town of Arlington, in northern Virginia, some trees – uprooted – had fallen on vehicles and homes. After the storm, dozens of people took to the streets to assess the damage and chat with other neighbors.
Similar damage was reported in other areas of the state of Maryland and in Washington.
Such was the impact of the wind that Arlington National Cemetery, where the US buries its war veterans, announced on Twitter that it would delay its opening time Sunday to clean up fallen trees and branches.
At Arlington Cemetery, it is a tradition for a soldier to always stand guard and parade, rifle in hand, in front of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in honor of those missing in action.
Despite the strong winds and the rain, the soldier who guards the grave continued to parade impassively, as the Arlington cemetery itself showed on its X account, formerly Twitter.
The storm caused numerous lightning and thunder while the winds reached speeds of between 96 and 140 kmph, according to the National Weather Service.
The storms came after several days in which the region recorded maximum temperatures of up to 40C.
According to The Washington Post, several residents of the area believe Saturday’s storm is the worst since another that hit the Washington area in June 2012 with winds of between 96kmph and 129 kmph, and which left 1 million people without electricity. EFE
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