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Ellicott City Resumes Rebuilding After Being Spared From Additional Flooding

ELLICOTT CITY, Md. (WJZ) -- It was far from the usual Friday evening backdrop in historic Ellicott City.

Instead of welcoming the weekend rush, many home and business owners once again spent it working -- cleaning and throwing out destroyed inventory after the region's second wave of flash flooding in less than two years.

RELATED: Ellicott City Hit By More Rain After Historic Flooding

"You can't tell what anything is. It's all mud, mulch and sewage -- it's disgusting," Kitty Morgan said.

Morgan owns two business and lives on Main Street.

"People don't understand on the outside. They are already asking 'So, you going to rebuild, you gonna decorate your shop? And I'm like, 'I can't think about that.' I don't know where I'm sleeping next week," she said.

It's a concern amplified with the possibility of more severe weather on the way.

"We might have some rain Saturday. maybe a little bit into Sunday. but it should be over an extended period of time and we've been advised that we shouldn't be expecting that to cause any issues," said Howard County Executive Allan Kittleman.

Work along Main Street has been rigorous. Utility crews worked to clear out debris and trash from drains.

Workers also boarded up windows and reinforced curbs to help with any future flooding.

Police also helped with a number of displaced cars.

Howard County officials say about 200 hundred cars were towed out of Main Street, and about 50 still need to be claimed by their owners.

Still, some of the lingering and long debated questions are will it happen again? And whose to blame?

RELATED: Engineers: Multi-Million Dollar Projects Can't Guarantee Ellicott City Won't Flood Again

Experts tell WJZ to some extent, Ellicott City will always be at flooding risk. It's a realization now forcing some to decided whether to stay or go.

"Everybody is just fried right now from what just happened to them," Morgan said.

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