Heavy Rains Swamp Mid-Atlantic

Heavy rains caused flooding across the mid-Atlantic region, washing out roads, disrupting train service and forcing some evacuations, and more rain was likely Monday.

Amtrak's Northeast Corridor service between Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., was temporarily disrupted early Monday due to high water and washout conditions along tracks stemming from the weekend's heavy rainfall. Only some service had been restored by the morning commute.

Even President Bush was affected by the storms, reports CBS News correspondent Howard Arenstein. A fallen tree Monday morning blocked the street where a Republican fundraiser was scheduled in just a few hours and at the White House itself, a 140-year-old elm tree toppled to the ground.

At the Pentagon, parts of the huge parking lot were closed because of flooding. The main Justice Department building was closed Monday because it had no power.

Researchers and tourists were asked not to visit the National Archives after workers discovered the moat surrounding their building on Pennsylvania Avenue had flooded, spokesman Susan Cooper said.

The Constitution and the Declaration of Independence are safe and undamaged, Cooper told Arenstein but the basement and theater in the building are flooded, and a power outage at the building has affected the process used to keep the temperature and humidity of the documents at the proper settings.

The Capital Beltway highway was closed for a mud slide near Alexandria, Va., that sent debris piling as high as 5 feet on the roadway. Transportation crews were working to open at least some lanes for the morning commute, but long delays were expected, said Virginia Department of Transportation spokeswoman Joan Morris.

"We couldn't go that way, we couldn't go that way, and you can't go that way," driver Meredith Maclay told CBS affiliate WUSA-TV. "I was pretty scared, I grew up here in Great Falls (Virginia) and the last time it was this bad was in '72, Hurricane Agnes."

This Montgomery County, Md., motorist had a close call just north of Washington.

"The water crossed over the streets, and I went ahead to put my brakes on, and the whole current took me, so my car was stuck against the guardrail and then the water started coming up from under the car, it was up to the windows, so I was flipping out," she told CBS affiliate WJZ-TV. "Thank God they came and got me out."

Commuter rail lines into Washington had to cancel service because of high water from heavy rains Sunday night. Metro subway service in the city was also disrupted downtown for high water on the electrified rails, said Metro spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein.

"Riders should bring an umbrella and a bucket full of patience," Farbstein said.

On Maryland's Eastern Shore, Federalsburg Mayor Betty Ballas declared an emergency for the southern Caroline County town of about 2,600 people Sunday morning.

"I was scared to death, and when you leave you, only have one car and you can only load so much stuff and you don't know what you are going to come back to if the other stuff's going to be washed away," resident Bob Jones told WJZ-TV.

"I woke up and I looked out and we had waterfront property," added Bill Beall.

Donald Nagel, the chief of police in Federalsburg, said low-lying areas in the town were flooded Sunday morning, and about 45 people were voluntarily evacuated. All had returned to their homes by late afternoon as the water began to recede.

"We got very lucky. Thank God for the sun," Nagel said.