RadioOnFire.com - The picturesque Main Street of Ellicott City, Maryland, faces a months-long recovery that could cost hundreds of millions of dollars after devastating flooding that damaged nearly every home and business along the road, officials said.
Two people were killed when the town took on 6.5 inches of water Saturday night, most of it between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m., sweeping away hundreds of cars, tearing away sidewalks and wrecking storefronts and building foundations.
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.
Early Monday Morning, WBAL NewsRadio 1090's Scott Wykoff spoke with Howard County Executive Allan Kittleman from the scene of the damage:
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.
"It looks like the set of a disaster movie," Kittleman said. "Cars everywhere, cars on top of cars, parts of the road are gone, many parts of the sidewalk are gone, storefronts are completely gone."
Videos posted on social media showed floodwaters rushing down Main Street, which slopes dramatically toward the river, and sweeping away cars. Some vehicles came to rest on top of each other. In one video posted to the Facebook page of an art gallery, several people can be seen forming a human chain to rescue a woman from a car that was being carried down the street by waist-high water.
Baltimore County police, who recovered the victims' bodies on the opposite side of the Patapsco, identified the victims as Jessica Watsula, 35, of Lebanon, Pennsylvania, and Joseph Blevins, 38, of Windsor Mill, Maryland. Both were inside vehicles that were overcome by floodwaters. Watsula's relatives were able to escape, and Blevins' girlfriend was rescued, police said.
County officials said at a news conference that up to five buildings had been destroyed and up to 30 more had significant damage. More than 170 inoperable vehicles were stranded in the Main Street area and along the river. A no-access zone remains in place.
Source WBAL
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