Published: August 1,2016
Two people are dead after a torrent of floodwaters swept through Ellicott City, Maryland, Saturday night sweeping cars away, damaging buildings, and prompting water rescues.
"It looks like the set of a disaster movie," Howard County Executive Allan Kittleman told the Associated Press. "Cars everywhere, cars on top of cars, parts of the road are gone, many parts of the sidewalk are gone, storefronts are completely gone."
A Pennsylvania woman visiting the town with her family was one of those killed after their car was caught in the raging floodwaters and carried toward the Patapsco River, police said. Baltimore County police, who recovered the victims' bodies on the opposite side of the Patapsco, identified them as Jessica Watsula, 35, of Lebanon, Pennsylvania, and Joseph Blevins, 38, of Windsor Mill, Maryland. Watsula's relatives were able to escape, and Blevins' girlfriend was rescued, police said.
Kittleman says everyone else who was thought to be missing has been accounted for.
Floods Devastate Main Street in Baltimore Suburb
Kittleman told the Associated Press by telephone that the devastation was the worst he'd seen in 50 years living in the county, including Hurricane Agnes in 1972, which caused the river to overflow its banks."No one has ever seen devastation like this in Ellicott City or anywhere in Howard County," Kittleman said. "There are a lot of businesses that are going to be hurting for a long time. There are a lot of people that lost their apartments and their homes."
Cars after the floodwaters receded. (Instagram/@typhoidmatt)Hoffman said there is extensive structure damage to multiple businesses, residential areas, along with sidewalks and streets. He said some business owners may come back on Sunday to find they have lost everything.
"We are inspecting that now, but really there is pretty extensive damage around the entirety of Main Street," he said. He estimated that the cost of repairs could reach the hundreds of million of dollars.
Johnny Breidenbach, who closed his restaurant Johnny's Bistro around 7:30 Saturday night, hadn't been able to get back to assess the damage.
"They told me that the door was totally ripped away from the hinges, and I don't know how much water I have inside," Breidenbach told The AP by phone Sunday.
He said Ellicott City would recover eventually, but some business owners may not be able to wait long enough to reopen.
"I could be one of those people," he said.
Government Response
Howard County Executive Allan H. Kittleman declared a state of emergency due to the flooding, allowing access to state resources. Maryland Governor Larry Hogan arrived in Ellicott City early Sunday morning and praised local emergency response while promising the state would do what it could to assist in the recovery efforts.Hogan signed an executive order declaring a state of emergency in Howard County, beginning Sunday, July 31 at 10 a.m.
At Howard Co EOC with @HoCoGovExec getting updated on the damage from last night's storm
Despite the destruction, Hogan also remarked on the heroism of locals amid a disaster that will likely go down as the worst in the suburb's history.
“There were incredible rescues ... people being rescued out of cars with human chains reaching from restaurants to try to get people out of cars," Hogan said. "A lot of heroes last night that saved a lot of lives."
Floods severely damaged property and vehicles on Main Street in Ellicott City, Maryland on Saturday night (Office of Lt. Gov. Boyd Rutherford)
"This disaster is far worse than I thought it was," Cummings told The Weather Channel. "Safety is number one and I hope people will keep that in mind. Even people who want to come down here and look at this, I beg them to do exactly what the police said, kind of stay away, because this is without a doubt a very hazardous area."
Cause and Effect
The flooding was the result of slow-moving thunderstorms in the region. More than 6 inches of rain fell in Ellicott City in a short period of time.A rise of more than 13 feet was recorded on the Patapsco River in Ellicott City in a few hours time Saturday evening. Record flooding was recorded by two gauges on the Patapsco River downstream from Ellicott City in Catonsville and near Elkridge.
Howard County Fire and Rescue tweeted multiple closures due to flooding, including Centennial Park, which will be closed until after damage assessment can be completed.
Major #flooding in Ellicott City, MD reported by Scott Weaver.
Those in need of temporary shelter in the Ellicott City area are advised to go to the Bain 50+ Center, located at 5470 Ruth Keeton Way, Columbia, Maryland.
Hoffman said the government in the next couple of hours will go through some briefings to see what the next course of action will be.
The National Weather Service had issued a flash flood emergency due to the severe flooding.
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