fly over ramp on to the median strip below on a grassy area next to i-270 as you've been reporting, there is one fatality in the crash, there are four persons with serious injuries and eight others who have injuries that are so serious they have to be taken to the hospital. but the eight others are not described as life-threatening at this point. right now, if you are in an office and headed this way, the best advice we could give you, whether you want it or not, is to try to find an alternate route and stay away from here because this traffic is just crawling. they have been in a very slow mode since this accident happened at 4:02 this afternoon. that's where we are. we'll keep an eye on it. you have more details. back to you. >> where you are, we were told by vito, that the one person that died was still on the bus. is that still the case? do you know that? >> reporter: i don't know that for sure. i must tell you that as we fought travk from d.c. to get here. we made it as far as the

beginning of the fly-over ramp, the accident site of the cars headed northbound, it's a couple hundred yards that way. we haven't been able to lay eyeballs on it so i can't answer your questions. >> do you have any sense, are they beginning to direct that traffic at all? we talked to the state police earlier and they suggested they would put themselves in place to showroom the other directions to go. and have you seen that? and did you see any sign of that? >> not much. a couple of officers here and there but not a whole lot. let me have our photographer move to the southbound lanes of i-270. shortly after this accident took place, many of the southbound lanes were cut. so that emergency workers could stage in the southbound lanes. meaning you couldn't go southbound. now as you can see, traffic is trickling through and by the time it gets to this point several hundred yards south of the accident site, it is moving along pretty well. we don't have eyeballs yet on what it's like north of here, but clearly the traffic in the

southbound direction is traveling much more quickly than these poor guys stuck northbound and just crawling. >> those folks traveling southbound are in for a rude shock when they get to 495 because on that bridge it is not moving at all. >> not at all. gary nuremburg, thank you for your report. again, we are covering a huge situation here on 270. this is a bus accident and a fatal bus accident. >> a horrific crash that happened earlier this afternoon. 4:02 p.m. when the bus fell off the 270 spur down on to the road below and i believe you are looking at some video from earlier down on the small screen, the small picture to your right, that is video of the rescue operation as it were, as the firefighters and ems began to climb inside the bus. they could not have done it right away. this is several minutes after it happened because we were told they have to stabilize that bus before it could happen. there you are looking at the triage area, red, yellow,

green, as you might assume the more serious injuries in the red air yak the least serious in the green and we are told there are four seriously hurt people in suburban hospital. we are going over to patranya. we know what a rough day this is traffic signs. is there any sign things are open up at all. >> it will not open up any time soon. this is one of the worst accidents and happening at one of the worst times and the worst spots. i'm going to show you what is happening live on our realtime maps here as you can see this is exactly where it is. if you are just joining us and trying to find out where this is exactly, the accident is on 270 spur, between 495 and the merge. so you can see, this is the accident. this is the inner loop heading toward the 270 main lanes, heading up north in maryland. so this is where the big mess is, so long delays will be on the inner loop of the beltway. so let's switch on to the live camera that we have on m-dot to see the backup. as you can see here over the

american legion on the left hand side of the screen and the traffic moving toward you, it is barely moving. delays start at 66 up to the spur and continuing on into montgomery county. and we're looking here at old georgetown road. this is one of the alternates we've been telling folks to take and you can see it is backed up there as well. old georgetown road, rockville pike, two main alternates and go into d.c. for some of the other arteries and cut through randolph. but anywhere you go, it will be a big mess so avoid the west side of the beltway toward the 270 spur more now. back to you. >> we just heard from gary that the southbound lanes appear to be opening up. have you noticed that and do you see the traffic trickling through there? >> right now, i haven't checked that route. but i will believe gary. he's on the scene. if he is seeing traffic, it is moving but probably not very fast. i know on the outer loop of the beltway toward virginia, that is very slow as well. no accidents just a lot of volume. >> patranya, thank you. we want to go out to anita brikman as she is out on the

scene and she's talking with assistant chief scott graham. anita, are you there? >> reporter: i am, lesli. and assistant chief is joining me to explain where we are. you can see all of the activity right behind me where they are still trying to clear the scene. >> anita at about 4:00 this afternoon, montgomery county fire rescue received a call for an accident on northbound 270 involving a bus. the units arrived on the scene, they found a 26-passenger limo- style bus that was traveling on northbound 270 from old georgetown road area. >> reporter: and it was up on the h.o.v. lane. >> it was entered the h.o.v. fly over which rejoined just below montrose road. the bus apparently left the roadway and careen add proximately 45 feet and came to rest against the jersey wall on northbound 270 coming from the democracy boulevard area. >> reporter: now we understand one fatality, a dozen people injured. can you tell me more about the parent ors children that may have been on this bus?

>> well the spessive numbers and locations we can't release yet. that's in the investigative process. we are figure out where they were riding. we did treat 12 patients. two of them are priority one, which is critical. two are priority two patients which are critical nonlife- threatening and eight of them were priority three which required treatment at a hospital and we did have one fatality. >> reporter: what is going on behind us here. we can see a crane. is there still efforts to remove the bus? >> well right now the investigative phase has begun. montgomery county police will reconstruct the accident. crane is down there to assist them with the removal of the bus when it's ready to be removed by rescue and they are helping reconstruct what we did as far as the extrication process so they can put this accident back together. there were two other vehicles involved on the northbound lane coming from democracy and the investigation will reveal what involvement they had as well. >> reporter: two those other

vehicles. we had gotten some reports that the driver may have had a medical emergency. you can comment on that? >> no. we wouldn't confirm that. that's speculation at this point. the investigation would have to take place to get that accurate information. >> reporter: now where you and i are standing, this is the part of 270 that is shut down and tell us where people are getting on and going past us to go north. >> northbound 270 from the inner loop toward democracy will be shut down and for quite sometime as the investigation continues. if you are on the inner loop, wanting to get to 270 northbound or north of the beltway, probably going around to either old georgetown road, 355, wisconsin or connecticut avenue is your best work-around than coming across montrose. >> and can you tell us how many emergency personnel are involved and what is going on in the scene down there? >> we had approximately 75 fire rescue personnel involved. because of the number of patients it was classified as a

mass -- casualty. we have a mass casualty bus that was called, a support unit which is supported by the council of governments region. there are several in the national capitol region. it was utilizedch a triage area was set up to bring the patients there initial little until they were assessed by other emt's and firefighters and then they were classified. most severe, least severe and which would wait and they were extricated the vehicles and off the scene within approximately 20 minutes. >> reporter: chief, thank you. we look forward to talking to you again. we are going to try to get closer to get more information closer to the scene. again we are here on i-270 where traffic is starting to go around the accident scene but as you heard the assistant chief say, this is going to be a very active scene for quite sometime and the delays on the highway will continue. reporting live, i'm anita brikman, back to you. >> before we let you go, did the assistant chief say off camera whether the person that perished is still in the bus?

and would he say at all whether the bus driver was the person that perished? >> reporter: no. i don't have any confirmation of that. we just know there was one fatality involved and as you just heard him say, two critically injured, two seriously injured but less so, but as far as the detail on who the fatality might be, whether it is even -- even a person on the bus, i have not been able to confirm. >> anita brikman reporting. thank you. >> some important information there. we'll recap in just a minute. we'll be back.

well a storm alert is our other big story and a lot of it is on the way. >> this is going to be a big event. and we talked about how wide- ranging it will be.

from north carolina up to maine before all is said and done. that's a hefty storm. for tonight, we have had some light rain but the real activity is going after midnight. flash flood watch in effect. heavy after midnight. and we're looking more at rain. you might hear the rumble of thunder. we're not concerned about thunderstorms tonight. a little bit more so tomorrow morning. low temperatures between 60 and 65 and winds increase east southeast at about 10-15. now tomorrow morning, heavy rain and thunderstorms. flooding is likely two to four inches of rain. just in the morning. temperatures 60s and 70s. winds east southeast at 15-25 and gusty. by afternoon i think we'll see the rain and thunderstorms tapering off. we could still see 1-2 inches. still warm, 75-80. and winds will become northwesterly at 10-15. when they shift and become north westerly that will dry us out and the worst will be in

the rearview mirror, so to speak. let's break down tomorrow for you. again, in the morning, the heaviest activity is between 6:00 a.m. and noon. the morning commute will be a mess. especially on top of the accident. so 65 to start, temperatures pretty uniform both inside and outside of the beltway, 70 by lunchtime, still raining very hard. by evening i think we'll see mostly cloudy skies, rain and thunderstorms tapering off and despite the rain and flooding and clouds, temperatures still in the mid to upper 70s. satellite picture, radar combined, we have tropical storm nicole and that is about 180 miles south, southwest of miami. but i'll tell you what, we are looking at -- for et most part, the -- for the most part the heaviest rain is on the way after midnight. so we'll watch all of this moisture in through the carolinas roll northward and come back and see how much is going to fall and when it will get out of here. back to you guys. >> topper, this is what we're going to be talking about for the next 24 hours. a lot of rain and downtown

washington, rain is falling. umbrella sails are rising. people living along the banks of potomac know the drill too well. >> they do. bruce leshan in the bellevue community of south alexandria where they have suffered in past times. bruce. >> reporter: nicole, not izzo bell, but when they hear tropical storm tracking west or over d.c. they remember the high winds from isabel that pushed the potomac, which you can see the other side of the trees, it was pushed up over the gw parkway and right into this neighborhood. and let me tell you, the water got so high where i'm standing there was actually six feet of water in the service bay for this shell station over there. and the water just went all up in through this neighborhood, destroyed a number of the homes here. >> there was plenty of warning

that the storm was coming. >> reporter: forecasters were out ahead of isabel but not everyone was paying attention. >> but this is what a lot of people did. they didn't evacuate when they should have and they ended up in significant danger. >> reporter: in 2003 police and fire crews started rolling through the bellevue neighborhood before midnight ordering everyone out. but not everyone listened. >> it was incredible at 3:00 a.m. in the morning we still have homeowners on their decks and second floors waiting to be rescued by the county. >> reporter: no one is expecting nicole to smack us that hard but crews in alexandria are clearing storm drains. there is not much they can do about the potomac tidal surge, which you can already see in some catch basins. but they can at least make sure the huge amount of rain we're expecting has someplace to go. >> i want to make sure we clean the debris and the -- the debris and the leaves. >> the water is to big deal. you get the pleasure of the river and sometimes the pain. >> that's exactly right.

the joy of the water on the potomac is the joy of living on the potomac. >> reporter: there are times when you needed a canoe to get your morning coffee at starbucks and floods going back as far as anyone can remember. a lot of people are hoping this just isn't another one. >> we need the rain. not that much in that sort of time but we need the rain. >> reporter: yeah, too much. now it's probably a good idea to walk around your house and take a look. this is a man hole here, but if you have a drain in your yard, you may just want to shovel it off, make sure there is no dirt in it and it's always a good idea to come over and take a look at your gutters and make sure that they are cleared off. although it's obviously getting late for that. and we are expecting some winds too so you want to make sure that this stuff is -- your lawn furniture isn't blowing around. there are going to be sandbags given away in alexandria. let me throw it to scott broom,

my colleague in annapolis. >> hey, bruce. you just talked about sandbags and here in annapolis at the city dock they have a pallet loaded of sandbags. this is a big trailer. some of the local merchants have grown used to stacking up sandbags and a high water sign here. this is a normal thing for annapolis as they anticipate the high tides. but what is not normal here is a new anxiety, an old dam near town which has been declared unsafe and the question is how much rain can it take. >> this is where i believe about 270 feet from end to end. >> reporter: annapolis city spokesman phil gallan gave me a tour of the water works dam today, suffering from eroding foundations and gaping cracks. >> that's an indicator of our need to make the repair.

this is certainly evidence of that. >> reporter: because of all this, the dam has been declared unsafe by state regulators who have ordered the city to fix it. in the meantime flood watches have gone up and city workers have been opening valves to draw the water works reservoir down in anticipation of up to six inches of rain. >> we'll be able to handle this. >> reporter: mcgowen said the city engineers are confident the dam will with stand the storm despite the condition. >> we're taking precautions. we have lowered the level of the dam to 5.5 feet below the top. there is no imminent threat of a major break down. >> a failure of the 12-foot dam would release the reservoir down a valley crossing route 450, four miles from downtown annapolis. it's unin hab tated --in hab

tated by a city caretaker and watching as the storm unfolds. >> the situation with that dam, the situation with that dam seems to be at hand according to city officials. down here at city dock they are worried about the tidal flooding and tonight the high tide comes at about 10:00, before the storm. i think the one they are most worried about is the high tide that comes at 10:30 tomorrow morning and that should be at the height and that's when they will see the water here. scott broom, 9 news now. >> and log on to our website, wusa9.com for the latest storm alert information. we'll have access to live interactive doppler radar and we are getting up early tomorrow morning. we will be on the air at 4:00 a.m. with the latest on the weather and traffic conditions. we're going to take a quick break and see you on the other side.

here is the rain. here is the heavy rain. this is rolling in tonight after midnight and this is why we are concerned. this is tropical moisture. we're not talking one or two inches, we're talking two, three or five inches. we've had some light rain roll through and we're in a respite or lull right now but it will pick up after midnight. flooding is likely. critical time 3:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. we would like you so send pictures in a flood prone area. and hope flu you have done this, check your subpump and gutters and half a half a tank of gas because you may have to go a circuitous route. you can post pictures at wusa9.com, facebook or twitter. we want you to be part of the storm coverage as well. look at the rainfall potential with us.

earlier today it was fainting manufacture less to the east of us. now everybody is pretty much in the bull's eye. east of i-81 across its d.c. area, across 95 and across into the delmarva, we're talking two, three, four, five and even six inches of rain, seven inches locally. we'll give you some totals. over 5 inches in culpeper. 2.5 downtown. 5 inches in cambridge and 4- inches in easton. so this is going to be an event across the metro area and up into new england, believe it or not. next seven days, upper 70s tomorrow. heavy rain. the heaviest rain will be in the morning and clearing out on friday and the coolest air of the season rolls in on saturday, sunday and monday. 9 news now continues right after this. stay tuned.

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four years ago, bob ehrlich got fired as governor of maryland. for good reason. first, he protected tax loopholes for giant cable cable companies. then, he let utilities jack up our rates 72%. and for the last four years, he worked as a hired gun for big corporations, even a bank that took billions from a taxpayer funded bailout. ehrlich sides with corporate executives again and again and again tell bob ehrlich big banks and billionares don't need help. middle class marylanders do. i'm anita brikman live. and a couple of hours after this happened, still a very active scene. we were able to go up closer to the tour bus moments agoch it

is our understanding that they are still in the process of removing the deceased individual from the bus. 12 others injured in this crash. two critically. two less seriously, all of those people have been transported and we understand that a fatality that is involved is still being dealt with. we'll have more coming up on 9 news now at 7:00 but it's still a very active scene. back to you. >> anita, thank you for that. and your show is coming up after the cbs evening news. >> and we'll have the latest on the bus accident. hopefully more about who may have been killed and whether or not that driver is the person. >> and don't forget, we start early at 4:00 a.m. tomorrow morning.

>> couric: tonight the threat of terror, a plot is uncovered for a series of attacks across europe and prosecutors