Amateur video taken during severe flooding in Ellicott City, Md. on Saturday, July 30, shows a group of people forming a human chain in an attempt to save a woman from a water-logged vehicle.
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As the rain fell and the waters rose, residents rushed into harm’s way to rescue each other. I’ve never seen such devastation but we have folks in Ellicott City who are committed to making sure that this storm does not defeat them.
“Cars everywhere, sidewalks missing, roads partially gone, utility poles down, cars on top of cars”, Howard County Executive Allan Kittleman said of the scene. “We are not in control and we have to be ready”. Continuous rainfall during the town’s historic flooding Saturday night made a rescue look impossible on the town’s now-unrecognizable Main Street until Barnes led the charge to form a human chain.
Courtney Weglein told CNN affiliate WJZ the water got so high so quickly on Saturday night that a man had to be carried to safety.
“Flood insurance was just insane down here”, she said.
Raging waters left one woman trapped in her vehicle, but good Samaritans stepped in, forming a human chain to rescue her.
“It was a fight or flight situation, I didn’t even think about it”. “I’ve lived in Howard County well over 50 years”.
He told Inside Edition that he feared the drama was going to end in tragedy.
“It’s awesome that they saved her, and they save him”, said a woman who lives in the small community. They had both been in cars when the flooding hit.
The Rev. Dean Cover (COH’-ver) shared his memories of 35-year-old Jessica Watsula on Monday in a telephone interview from Living Waters Chapel in Lebanon, Pennsylvania.
Videos posted on social media showed floodwaters rushing down Main Street, which slopes dramatically toward the river, and sweeping away cars.
They were inside the Watsula’s vehicle, when they were swept away by the flood.
The other victim was identified as Joseph Blevins, 38, of Windsor Mill, Maryland, police said.
Adam Evans said he knew his auto had not survived the flood after he saw images of it during news coverage. More than 170 inoperable vehicles were stranded in the Main Street area and along the river.
City officials say floodwaters have destroyed at least five buildings and significantly damaged 30 more.
Now that the water has receded and the damage is starting to be assessed, Tanghe said his biggest priority is finding a place for individuals and families who have been displaced by the flooding.
Mullendore said business owners were still not allowed into their properties yet, but some were taken by authorities to tour the wreckage.
“Jason was incredibly fearless and a little bit reckless to wade out to that”, David Dempster, co-owner of Main Street’s Still Life Gallery, told The Washington Post.
Maryland Governor Larry Hogan surveyed the damage in the area and declared a state of emergency in the county, NBC News reported. Kittleman called the Maryland flash flood a bad and horrific incident that looks like a warzone, Today News reported.
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Meanwhile, scattered thunderstorms were expected throughout the day, according to the National Weather Service.
