Ellicott City Residents Left In Limbo On When Rebuilding Process Can Start
BALTIMORE (WJZ)-- Some Ellicott City residents say the damage to their homes and businesses isn't as bad as their neighbors following devastating flash flooding Sunday.
SHUT DOWN
When the stretch of Main Street that was severely damaged shuts down -- potentially for months -- they'll be locked out, leaving a lot of people scrambling to take out what they can while they can.
Gates are up and there's no telling for how long, as the process of damage assessment, cleanup and, eventually, rebuilding begins on Ellicott City's Main Street, less than two years after the same charming stretch of businesses and homes disintegrated underwater in 2016.
Howard County has stepped in to meet their most basic needs.
"We have tried to respond this time by making sure we have the most immediate resources that people need in the first few days available for them, and that we're here for the long haul until they don't need us anymore," said Jackie Scott of the Department of Community Resources and Services.
BGE crews are working to bring back service where they can but they say for much of Main Street they can't safely turn on power.
MEMA and FEMA will conduct joint preliminary damage assessments with Howard County, Baltimore County and Baltimore City beginning Thursday. In a statement, MEMA wrote the assessments don't "guarantee financial assistance but they are a key component of the recovery process."
"Our administration is committed to helping those impacted by the recent devastating floods recover as quickly as possible," Gov. Larry Hogan said. "I have directed the Maryland Emergency Management Agency to work closely with regional representatives from FEMA to seek all available assistance to support our public safety partners and our citizens who were affected as they work to rebuild."
MEMA says federal assistance could come through the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act.
ASSESSING DAMAGES
A catastrophe of this magnitude twice in two years means some businesses may never return to Main Street.
"We just had packed up everything the weekend before because we thought there was going to be a flood and then brought everything back to be able to open for Memorial Day weekend and look, I should have never unpacked it because it's all gone," Joan Eve Shea-Cohen of Joan Eve Classics & Collectibles said.
People who live and work in the area hustled to clean out the muck and pack up anything that's salvageable. They had two hours.
"They have scheduled times, so one o'clock is our time. We have hours. Have to get down and get back," Megan Clark of Curious Minds Toys said.
On Wednesday, a meeting at Howard High School started with a moment of silence for National Guardsman Sgt. Eddison Hermond, who died during the flooding while trying to help a woman and cat.
Elected officials and citizens who are volunteering promised they'll help a physically and emotional battered town rebuild.
"Two times in 20 months is just unthinkable that it happened. So I thank the county for its preparation and saving life. I know you can never plan to avoid these types of disasters," Sen. Bar Cardin said.
"It's the call to action. Whatever we can do to help," Pat Cappelaere of the Travis Manion Foundation said.
The progress report from city officials includes 198 trapped cars that have been removed.
Forty state troopers will stand guard 24/7.
Storm drains are being cleared before the next rain event.
For survivors, there's gratitude for making it out alive.
"How am I feeling? I had to swim to safety. I am alive, that's how I feel. I am grateful to be standing here walking to you tonight," Shea-Cohen said.
CITY INFRASTRUCTURE
Sunday's rainfall engulfed parts of Ellicott City.
"The devastation this time, is much worse than 2016" business owner Ron Peters said. "It's devastating to the whole community that we don't seem to be able to work on getting more flood mitigation."
The catastrophic flood highlights the city's infrastructure, with questions about what can be done to protect the town and peoples' livelihoods.
Council member Jon Weinstein, didn't hide his emotions during an interview Wednesday.
"I know these people, they're my friends. this is not just my job as a council member, this is my responsibility" Weinstein said, pointing to the way the city was developed decades ago. "It's 250 years old. The Ellicott brothers came here, built the town on the side of the hill, with rivers and streams running through it so they could speed up water. This was a mill town."
He added that what's been newly constructed, withstood the force of Sunday.
"The infrastructure, it's old. After the last flood, we rebuilt almost all of it, if not all of it, and made it stronger and it withstood Sunday" he said.
Weinstein said when it's 8 inches of water in that short amount of time, it can be tough for anything to help alleviate the flooding.
WJZ asked about concerns over "too much development" and the impact it can have on stormwater runoff.
"There's no doubt development plays a part and it's an obvious thing. We put legislation in place to take account for that."
Weinstein added there are projects that took months of studying after the 2016 flood to help with flood mitigation. Ironically, they were just getting ready to break ground.
"We were there. This storm came out and had the impact that it did. If there is a community in this country, on this planet, that can recover, it's this one."
WJZ's Kimberly Eiten, Rick Ritter and Ava-joye Burnett contributed to this story.
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