Howard Co. Officials Release 911 Calls From Deadly Ellicott City Flooding
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Howard County officials released 911 calls from Sunday's deadly flooding in Ellicott City that reveal the fear people faced as rising flood waters trapped them in buildings.
Ellicott City saw historic flooding again Sunday afternoon, less than two years after it was hit by devastating floods in July 2016.
[911 operator: So how many people do you have in your house?]
"Let's see, we have one, we have a baby..." one woman said.
[911 operator: Just give me a count]
"1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9..."
The Howard County government says fire and police officials answered 1,122 calls between 3:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. Sunday.
"God this is worse than the last one," one caller said. "My car is gone and there's several cars that have gone down the street."
One 911 caller helplessly watched another woman surrounded with no escape.
[911 operator: How much water is in the building now?]
"It's going halfway up. She's screaming at the top of her lungs," the caller said.
At La Palapa Grill & Cantina -- the last place where Sgt. Eddie Hermond was seen before he was swept away -- a caller said hundreds of people were inside.
RELATED: Md. Authorities Recover Body Of Missing National Guard Sgt. Eddison Hermond
"We're in the heart of the flood. I just want you to know we have about 250 customers. There was a wedding beneath us at the Main Street ballroom. We were trying to get them up, I don't know how many people we got," a man said.
During the tense moments, one woman begged the 911 operator for reassurance that she would be saved.
"Are we gonna die, ma'am?" another caller asked.
[911 operator: No, honey, I'm gonna do my best so that does not happen. Ok?]
Fire and rescue officials did not give an exact number of how many people were rescued, but one caller said there were more than 200 people at their location.
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