A state of emergency was declared in Howard County, and people have been advised to “avoid the [Main Street] area because of gas leaks and downed power lines”, according to NBC. “We have certainly had our fair share in the United States in recent years, and any increasing trend in these type of rainfall events is highly concerning”, Bowen said. Several men can be seen in the video, with one man lifting the woman up and carrying her to safety.
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“We talked to a lot of people who said they had very little time to get ready – like ten minutes and all of the sudden it was there”, he added.
He said he believes nothing “could have stopped this tragedy”, but that “it is an opportunity to make some changes”.
Hardest hit was historic downtown Ellicott City, founded in 1772 and located near the Patapsco River.
Devastating flooding has damaged almost every home and business along Main Street of Ellicott City, according to officials.
Johnny Breidenbach, the owner and chef of Johnny’s Bistro on Main, said he closed his restaurant around 7:30 Saturday night, before the worst of the flooding, and he hadn’t been able to get back there to assess the damage.
“We are hear today not to just tour, but to continue our action plan to bring in any and all federal resources”, she said at a brief press conference early Monday afternoon.
“Flood insurance was just insane down here”, she said.
“Everything funneled toward that Main Street area”.
One victim was a woman and the other was a man. Ellicott City was swamped by flash floods Saturday night (7/30/16).
Joseph Blevins, 38, of Windsor Mill, Maryland was also swept away after his vehicle was overwhelmed by the storm. When the water went down, they walked out to find incredible damage. He says many structures, sidewalks and roadways are still unstable and it’s not clear when people will be allowed to return. Numerous buildings downtown were first built in the 1800s. We could have all died.
They were inside the Watsula’s vehicle, when they were swept away by the flood.
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This is at least the 9th “1-in-1,000” year rain event across the US since 2010 and the second this year, with the first being the disastrous flooding in West Virginia in late June that killed 23 people.
