A powerful rainstorm brought catastrophic flooding to Ellicott City, Maryland, on Saturday. “In the past, it has been bad”.
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Her pastor of eight years, the Rev. Dean Cover, said Watsula had a bubbly personality and a smile that could be seen from a mile away.
“Oh my God”, the caller said. Over 6 inches of rain in two hours simply overpowered the rivers and drainage systems, which flow under and around Ellicott City on route to the Patapsco River.
At least 25 buildings were damaged, and videos from the scene showed cars floating down what had previously been city streets. A group of strangers acted fast and joined hands to form a human chain.
The bodies of two people, a man and a woman, were found in the aftermath, one in the river, officials said.
Mikulski said she is working with Republican Gov. Larry Hogan to submit a request for federal assistance for individuals, businesses and the local government.
The rains and ensuing floods were the product of stormy weather across parts of the mid-Atlantic and Northeast over the weekend. “Yeah, I thought he was done for”. Within five minutes, it was panic and my friend was pulling someone out of there, and I’ve never seen anything like it. …
“I don’t think anything could have stopped this tragedy”, he said, “but, as you know, we have flooding”.
Four men formed a human chain to grab the woman from her auto with one man dragged into the water by the strong currents, but luckily survived.
The meteorological cause of Ellicott City’s epic flood was complex, a mixture of high humidity, unstable air, southerly wind flow, a nearby warm front and other factors as noted by The Washington Post’s Capital Weather Gang.
“I’m unsure of what I need to be doing”, he told the operator.
“We’ve been through blizzards, we’ve been through hurricanes, we’ve been through awful train accidents, but we have never seen devastation like this”, U.S. Democratic Senator Barbara Mikulski of Maryland, told reporters at a news conference. He went on to say that they are going to become a stronger and better community because that is who they are. That’s when they noticed a woman was still in her auto, in the midst of the flood.
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The Reverend Dean Cover of the Living Waters Chapel has shared his memories of 35-year-old Jessica Watsula, who was born and raised in Lancaster.
