Flash Flood Hits Reston Park and Ride Lot

When commuters returned to the Reston North Park and Ride lot Thursday afternoon, they saw dozens of cars almost completely submerged in water.

More than six inches of rain fell in about three hours, causing flooding, clogged roads and general chaos in Reston. But the most retweeted photo of the afternoon had to be the cars nearly underwater at Sunset Hills Road and Wiehle Avenue.

Ellen Kamilakis, public information officer for Fairfax Connector, the bus service that runs to and from the Park and Ride lots, says she has not seen flooding this bad since Hurricane Isabel in 2003.

Late Thursday afternoon, Fairfax Connector was still trying to maneuver buses through the roads.

"We are making sure people can get home," Kamilakis said.

Fairfax Connector set up a mobile shelter for commuters with submerged cars to get out of the rain. They also put a shuttle in place to get commuters from the Reston lot to Herndon-Monroe, where friends and family could pick them up since many Reston streets were blocked.

Fairfax Connector will have more information on Friday about the number of cars damaged and whether there will be any storm effects for the morning commute.