Recovery Efforts Continue in Flood-Ravaged Ellicott City
ELLICOTT CITY, Md. (WJZ) -- As the recovery efforts continued in flood-ravaged Ellicott City on Thursday, more donations poured in to help the more than 1,000 people impacted by the storms.
The United Way of Central Maryland announced more than $200,000 has been collected from local businesses to help offset the damage and the costs of rebuilding.
As WJZ's Marcus Washington reports, hundreds of people have pitched in physically and financially in light of the recent disaster.
RELATED: Federal Agency Approves Disaster Funding For Ellicott City
"It's a different city," said Howard County Executive Allan Kittleman. "If you walk in there now, you don't see any cars, the sidewalks have been filled in with rocks and some sand, so it looks a lot different. Still a long way from being fully recovered, but we're getting there."
The past eight months have been rough for the county, said Kittleman, who pointed toward last winter's blizzard, a tornado and most recently last month's deadly flood.
But officials, residents and business owners have made progress, despite the setbacks. Some want to help because they call Ellicott City home, others want to help support the businesses that they patronized when times were good, and others still want to help clean the city up and eliminate any existing health risks.
RELATED: Ellicott City Businesses Making Strides After Disaster Strikes
"The dirt and everything contains sediment,: said Sam Farschian with AmeriCorps. "There was sewage overrun, it got in the river, it's flooded the area. That sewage can be hazardous, it can be toxic. When that dust blows up, it can be inhaled."
The recovery process is expected to take months at least, but many people remain confident that Ellicott City can be rebuilt.
Starting on Saturday, residents, business and property owners can resume the cleanup process on Main Street, where access has so far been limited. Between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, they'll be allowed to return with volunteers to pick up debris.
To learn more about how you can help the Ellicott City flood victims, CLICK HERE.
