Severe flooding devastated some Western Maryland communities in Allegany and Garrett counties, where children had to be rescued from their schools this week.

The evacuation was conducted by local emergency crews. At 4:40 p.m. on Tuesday, the Allegany County Department of Emergency Services reported that all students and staff members in the school had been safely evacuated to a church in town.

Rescue boats were used to evacuate an elementary school in Allegany County, Maryland Tuesday as heavy rains brought flooding to the region, the county’s emergency services department said.