The 2018 flood killed one person and washed out many of the same businesses and residents. But the community cleaned up, repaired and returned. The first flood claimed two lives, damaged 90 businesses, displaced nearly 100 residents and put hundreds out of work. In the past, flooding came from the Patapsco rising out of its banks, but the two most recent floods were “top-down,” meaning that rain falling in the 11-square mile Tiber-Hudson watershed burst from the channels of the streams that would normally carry it to the larger river. Over the years, Main Street has been inundated dozens of times, but there have been three major floods in the last seven years, including Tropical Storm Lee in 2011. Some of the buildings actually sit atop culverted stream channels. It was built in a steep, rocky valley where four streams come together before flowing into the Patapsco River. However, extreme rainfall events have become much more frequent across the Northeast since the 1950s, a trend scientists say is likely to keep happening as the global climate continues to change in the coming decades.Įllicott City has been flood-prone since its founding as a grain mill community in 1772. The floods that devastated old Ellicott City on July 30, 2016, and on May 27, 2018, were generated by “1,000-year storms,” with rains so intense that meteorologists consider them exceptionally rare and put the probability of their occurring in any year at 1 in 1,000. “When you look at the reality of it, there are some buildings that just have to come down in order to ensure the highest level of public safety possible,” Ball said in an interview.
Howard County Executive Calvin Ball unveiled a flood mitigation plan in May that aims to keep Ellicott City “safe and sound.” It proposes boring a tunnel to siphon floodwaters away from the quaint shops and restaurants lining Main Street and building or expanding stormwater retention ponds and culverts farther up the watershed.īall’s plan would also demolish four of the historic buildings on lower Main and modify up to six more. On Sunday, the outages were down to 930.Howard EcoWorks Executive Director Lori Lilly, during a tour of Ellicott City’s historic downtown in May. The Baltimore Gas and Electric Company showed more than 4,000 customers were without power on its outage map about 11 p.m. Those affected by the storm who are in need of non-emergency assistance can call Howard County’s Police Department at (410) 313-2200. The Hogan administration has asked state agencies to respond to the effects of this storm, including the Maryland Emergency Management Agency, which has increased its activation level and is coordinating resource requests received from Howard County. "Our administration is working closely with local officials, including Howard County Executive Allen Kittleman, to respond to this major storm event." "We are coordinating all available resources to address this emergency as quickly as possible," Hogan said. The order allows the state to efficiently coordinate support and provide additional assistance to Howard County. Larry Hogan signed an executive order declaring a state of emergency in Howard County on Sunday. "I've done this a lot, and I've never seen it like this."īarth said he was unsure about any other serious injuries due to flood waters. "The devastation is quite remarkable," Barth said, noting that six inches of rain fell in just a couple of hours. We can't fix a lost life," Kittleman said.
"Regardless of how bad those roads are, regardless of how bad those sidewalks are, regardless of how bad stores are - we can fix that. Kittleman estimates the cost of the recovery will run into the tens of hundreds of millions of dollars. So, no - I don't think we can compare this to anything we've seen before," he said. "Cars everywhere, sidewalks missing, roads partially gone, utility poles down, cars on top of cars, buildings - the bottom floor completely gone, foundations completely gone.
He compared the aftermath to that of a war zone or the set of a disaster movie. He says virtually every structure and business along Ellicott City's Main Street was damaged. Kittleman said the damage sustained during the flooding was the worst in at least 50 years and possibly the worst in the 244-year-old town's history. Fire and rescue crews rescued 120 people during the flooding, Kittleman said. He said the Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue Services rescued more than 40 people from the Phoenix Emporium, a bar along Main Street in Ellicott City, and at least 80 others from cars in different locations.Įveryone who was thought to be missing has been accounted for, he said.
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