Dave Dester was filming the heroics of good Samaritans as they rescued a woman trapped in her auto Saturday night when water raged in the streets of Ellicott City.
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The 911 calls from Saturday night, when Old Ellicott City experienced historic and deadly flooding, have been released by the county government.
Gov. Larry Hogan has declared a state of emergency, allowing the state to send resources to assist in cleanup efforts, a process that is expected to take months.
The bodies were recovered after they were killed in separate incidents when they were carried off by the rushing water, reportedly. Many historic structures remained unscathed before Saturday’s severe flooding. His girlfriend was able to escape, but Blevins was swept away.
“No one has ever seen devastation like this in Ellicott City or anywhere in Howard County”, Kittleman said. There was no place for the eight people inside the coffee shop to go, she said, but after almost four minutes on the line with the dispatcher, they found an escape.
David Dempster, who owns an Ellicott City art gallery, filmed the dramatic rescue, according to a report by WUSA 9.
“Make sure you stay inside, have an emergency kit ready and an evacuation plan with your family”, said Loa Esquilin, an American Red Cross regional communications manager.
County officials said at a news conference Sunday that up to five buildings had been destroyed and up to 30 more had significant damage. “Or as Lt. Gov Rutherford told me, like a set from a disaster movie.”Miller said the water levels have returned to normal but more damage could be on the way”.
A Pennsylvania woman visiting the town with her family was one of those killed after their vehicle was caught in the raging floodwaters and carried toward the Patapsco River, police said.
Officials were still assessing the number of people displaced by the flooding and the cost of damage to the community, a county spokeswoman said.
“Portalli’s Restaurant in Ellicott City is completely flooded…”, the caller said. She asked first responders to help others first because she said she and others at Ellicott Mills Brewing Company were OK.
In other words, the rainfall rates that occurred during the 10-minute to two-hour timeframe of this storm event can typically be expected to occur with a frequency of less than once in a thousand years.
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Ellicott City picked up nearly twice its monthly average rainfall of 3.5 inches Saturday night. And in June, 23 died in a in West Virginia flood caused by heavy rain.
