Flooding cripples US capital, closes attractions

WASHINGTON - Torrential rain soaked the US capital, toppled a century-old elm tree at the White House, closed the home of the Declaration of Independence and kept tax collectors from work on Monday.

With as much as 18cm of rain falling since Sunday in an East Coast deluge, flooded basements or power outages forced the Internal Revenue Service, Commerce Department, Justice Department and the National Archives to close.

"The nation's attic" - the Smithsonian Institution - was also hit. Two Smithsonian-run museums and the National Zoo were closed.

The federal government told its 280,000 area workers they could take leave if they were unable to get to work. The Justice Department's main building, where hoses pumped out a flooded basement, would stay closed all week, authorities said.

The National Archives, which houses the Declaration of Independence, the US Constitution and other treasured documents, said inspections revealed "no damage to original records," but it was to stay closed through Tuesday.

The White House also escaped damage when the aged elm tree fell near the north door to the presidential residence, said spokesman Bill Line for the National Park Service, which maintains the grounds.

The fallen White House elm tree, planted during the term of President Theodore Roosevelt in the first years of the 20th century, met an ignominious end. "Nature took its toll ... The tree is being mulched as we speak," said Line.

- REUTERS