Police: Person found dead in flooded Md. tent city

Updated: Thu 2:55 PM, Jan 31, 2013

LAUREL, Md. (AP) - Police in Maryland say a person was found dead in a flooded camp where homeless people live in tents.

Lt. T.J. Smith says a body was found Thursday morning. The person apparently drowned. Smith says the person died before officials opened dams to ease pressure on the swollen Patuxent River.

Up to six inches of rain fell overnight in some areas along the Patuxent River, where the flood gate openings have prompted evacuations.

Laurel city spokesman Pete Piringer says the evacuations were ordered Thursday morning and affect several hundred people in the city's historic district.

The National Weather Service says the water releases will likely cause higher water levels than the area has seen in many years.

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