Photo by philliefan99

Compared to New York, D.C. was largely spared the worst of Hurricane Sandy’s wrath. That doesn’t mean we’re fully in the clear, though—the swollen Potomac River is expected to top its banks at some point today and flood low-lying areas through Friday.

According to the National Weather service, the Potomac’s water levels are between two and four feet above normal today, and flooding could occur during high tides at 9:08 a.m. and 9:19 p.m. Georgetown and Alexandria are most immediately threatened by the possibility of flooding; flood walls are up at the Washington Harbour, which suffered from damaging flooding in April 2011.

According to the AP, the floods could be the worst in 16 years and among the top five worst for the Potomac in history.