Floods leave Maryland residents devastated
As the waters recede, officials begin to assess the destruction
After flash floods sent cars floating down Main Street in historic Ellicott City, Maryland, local officials said they were heart-broken to see the community so severely damaged again less than two years after a devastating flood killed two people and caused millions in damages.
As the flood waters receded late Sunday, officials were just beginning the grim task of assessing the destruction.
During an evening news conference, Howard County executive Allan Kittleman said authorities aren’t aware of any fatalities or missing people. But first responders and rescue officials were still going through the muddied, damaged downtown, conducting safety checks and ensuring people evacuated.
Kittleman said the damage was significant and appeared to him to be worse than the flooding two summers ago.
Residents and business owners, Kittleman said, “are faced with the same daunting task of rebuilding again.”
“We will be there for them as we were in 2016,” he said.
Gov. Larry Hogan also toured the area and promised “every bit of assistance we possibly can.”
“They say this is a once every 1,000-year flood and we’ve had two of them in two years,” Hogan said. The flooding Sunday swept away parked cars in Ellicott City, set along the west bank of Maryland’s Patapsco River and about 13 miles (20 kilometres) west of Baltimore.
‘Higher than before’
Jessica Ur, a server at Pure Wine Cafe on the city’s Main Street, told The Baltimore Sun that she watched as gushing waters swept three or four parked cars down the street.
“It’s significantly higher than it was before,” she told the newspaper, comparing the floodwaters to those of 2016.