Yes, that was a relief to hear! It does appear there are some problems with flooding and hence power in all the buildings in that part of DC. I've seen that area along the National Mall flood before; Constitution Avenue, N.W. sometimes floods in that area, as during Hurricane Agnes in the 1970s, etc.
Here's how the Washington Post's online edition explained the situation. Note that it appears Archives One will be closed tomorrow, as well.:
"The headquarters buildings for the Internal Revenue Service, the Commerce Department, the Department of Justice, parts of the Environmental Protection Agency at the Rios federal building and the National Archives were closed today because of flooding and electrical problems. Office of Personnel Management spokesman Edmund Byrnes said no decisions have yet been made about building openings tomorrow.
The National Archives announced they would remain shuttered tomorrow.
The Smithsonian's National History Museum and American History Museum also were closed today.
Pepco shut off power to those large government buildings because some basements containing electrical switch gears were flooded, according to Robert Dobkin, a spokesman for the utility.
"We had to shut down this entire network because the buildings all share the same electricity network," Dobkin said.
Power cannot be restored to these buildings until their basements are drained and the switch gears are inspected and, if necessary, repaired, Dobkin said."
>>> Ellen Chapman <[log in to unmask]> 6/26/2006 2:56 PM >>>
On NPR's Morning Edition program a NARA spokesperson said the building had
been carefully inspected and no archival material was damaged or
threatened with damage.
|((| Ellen Chapman, MLS, MA, CA
|))| Archives & Manuscripts Department
|((| University of Hawaii at Manoa Library
|))| (808) 944-7656
On Mon, 26 Jun 2006 [log in to unmask] wrote:
> From WTOP news:
>
> The record heavy rainfall in the Washington area yesterday and overnight has
> knocked out powr and caused flooding in a number of areas. One building
> without power is the National Archives Building (Archives One) downtown:
>
> "The National Archives downtown location between 7th and 9th Streets on
> Constitution Avenue is closed to employers, researchers and tourists until further
> notice.
> According to an Archives spokeswoman, flooding has knocked out power to the
> building. No word yet on whether any documents have been damaged or destroyed.
> The main Internal Revenue Service headquarters building downtown will be
> closed. That building is located at 1111 Constitution Avenue. An IRS spokesman
> says the building doesn't have electricity and the basement is flooded with up to
> 4 feet of water. Employees can call the IRS information line at 866-743-5748,
> Option 3."
>
> http://www.wtopnews.com/?nid=25&pid=0&sid=831792&page=2
>
> A number of roadways and train tracks are affected and parts of the Metro
> (subway) are as well. See
> http://www.wtopnews.com/?nid=25&sid=831792
>
> Maarja
>
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A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List sponsored by the Society of American Archivists, www.archivists.org.
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A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List sponsored by the Society of American Archivists, www.archivists.org.
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