Landslide Sweeps Through Baltimore (VIDEO)

A landslide swept through part of Baltimore Wednesday, taking out a block-long section of a residential road and forcing cars down an embankment and people to evacuate their homes, The Associated Press  reported.

A sidewalk and retaining wall along 26th Street in Charles Village slid with mud and debris onto railroad tracks below. Crews are working to clear debris, stabilize the 120-year-old wall and remove cars teetering on its edge, fire department spokesman Ian Brennan said.

City officials evacuated 19 adjacent homes and no injuries were reported, according to The Baltimore Sun.

Investigators speculate that the collapse was caused by heavy rains over the previous 24 hours that brought flooding to the region, but the cause is still under scrutiny, the AP reported.

The National Weather Service said more than 3 inches of rain have fallen on the Baltimore area since Tuesday afternoon.

According to Brennan, officials don't yet know when the road will be reopened or when residents on the block can return to their homes.

Witt, of the National Weather Service's Sterling, Va., office, said such storms aren't out of the ordinary for the area this time of year.

"We're coming up on peak season," he told The Sun. "It's not uncommon we get these systems in April."

Some residents weren't surprised by the collapse, either.

"My wife and I haven't been parking on that side of the street for years because we knew it was going to happen," said Charles Village resident Jim Zitzer, who said he had noticed a crack running parallel to the sidewalk nearly the length of the block.

The CSX track carries cargo containers handled by rail at the state's Seagirt Marine Terminal, a substantial economic engine for the region.

Despite the inconvenience and the post-collapse cleanup, most consider themselves fortunate.

"We're extremely blessed that we're talking about property damage and not any loss of life," Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake conveyed.