28 May 2018
Flash flood sweeps cars down street in Maryland
By Associated Press
ELLICOTT CITY, Md. — Flash floods struck a Maryland city on Sunday that had been wracked by similar devastation two years earlier, prompting emergency rescues as raging waters engulfed cars and rose above the first floor of some buildings, authorities said.
News outlets showed local photos and video of the turbulent floodwaters cascading down Main Street in Ellicott City, some 13 miles west of Baltimore. The community set along the west bank of Maryland’s Patapsco River, was stricken by deadly flash flooding in July 2016.
A witness says she watched cars being swept by flash flooding through a downtown street in Ellicott City.
Jessica Ur, a server at a cafe on the city’s Main Street, told The Baltimore Sun she saw the gushing brown waters carry three or four parked cars down the street.
The newspaper reports that the swirling waters reached the second flood of one building at its height.
But by about 7:30 p.m. Sunday, the newspaper reports, much of the water had subsided and rescue officials were walking around the downtown area while making sure people evacuated.
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan earlier declared a state of emergency in the flood-stricken area. Hogan says he has directed the Maryland Emergency Management Agency to assist Ellicott City to recover.
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