Man missing in floodwaters
ELLICOTT CITY, Md. — Rescuers searched Monday for a man who was swept away as flash flooding tore through a picturesque Maryland town less than two years after the community rebuilt from another massive flood.
The missing man — Eddison Hermond, 39, of Severn — was last seen Sunday trying to help a woman save her cat while churning waters ripped through Ellicott City’s flood-prone downtown.
Howard County Police Chief Gary Gardner said the missing National Guard member and U.S. Air Force veteran had been with a group at a restaurant. He said Hermond was trying to help others by holding a door open as floodwaters coursed through the restaurant when a woman approached, desperately trying to rescue her pet just outside.
“He, along with some other folks, went back to assist her and unfortunately during that effort they saw him go under ... and not surface,” Gardner said, adding that the others made it out of the area safely.
Simon Cortes, who owns the restaurant, described Hermond as “a super nice guy” who was frequently out in the community showing support when it worked to rebuild from the devastating flooding that ravaged the former mill town in July 2016.
Howard County Executive Allan Kittleman said his immediate priorities are finding the missing man and assessing the condition of damaged buildings that housed shops, restaurants and families.
The Main Street area remained blocked off Monday, even to residents and business owners, as teams of authorities and engineers surveyed the heartbreaking mess.
“If you look at the devastation and the damage, I would certainly say it’s worse than 2016,” Kittleman said. “We’ve had areas that were not even damaged at all two years ago terribly damaged this time.”
Ellicott City certainly got the worst of it. But torrential rains led to such bad flooding in Baltimore County, Baltimore City and the capital of Annapolis that Gov. Larry Hogan declared a state of emergency statewide to better coordinate support and assistance.
With floodwaters receded Monday, residents and business owners could see the scope of the challenge ahead of them: They face another mammoth cleanup and daunting comeback.
Sunday’s flooding tore up streets and swept away dozens of cars in the city, which sits in a ravine on the west bank of the Patapsco River, about 13 miles west of Baltimore.
On Sunday, Ellicot City recorded recorded 8 inches of rain over a six-hour period, with most of it falling during an intense, three-hour period.