Ellicott City has been devastated by a massive storm on the Sunday before Memorial Day, just two years after a flash flood forced the historic city in Howard County to rebuild much of its Main Street.
Gov. Larry Hogan declared a state of emergency and said he was on his way to the scene of the devastation. He said in a tweet that he has directed the Maryland Emergency Management Agency to assist in helping the city recover.
A flood emergency was first issued in Ellicott City at 4:40 p.m. Two hours later, National Weather Service warned another inch-and-a-half of rain was expected to fall before 7 p.m. –Baltimore Sun
“This is an EXTREMELY DANGEROUS AND POTENTIALLY CATASTROPHIC situation and you must move to HIGHER GROUND IMMEDIATELY AND STAY AWAY FROM ANYWHERE WHERE WATER IS MOVING,” the National Weather Service tweeted.
At 5:07 pm tonight, “Ryan” tweeted, “Main Street in Ellicott City is flooding badly again and the rain isn’t supposed to stop until around midnight. We’re trapped at the restaurant. Please keep me and my coworkers in your thoughts.”
Main Street in Ellicott City is flooding badly again and the rain isn’t supposed to stop until around midnight. We’re trapped at the restaurant. Please keep me and my coworkers in your thoughts.
— Ryan (@ryguyblake) May 27, 2018
This video was posted just as the main street in Ellicott City, MD, started to fill with water:
Ellicott City rn pic.twitter.com/XLEMLUtGmG
— 🦒 (@wizardbri) May 27, 2018
This video, that was posted on Twitter only two hours after the video above, showing how quickly the flooding took over the city:
https://twitter.com/buitengebieden/status/1000850617051598848
This video captures vehicles being slamming into each other, as the rushing water surges down the street, dragging everything in its path along with it:
The rushing water is almost the level of the stop signs in the video below, and is shown rushing down more than one street in Ellicott City:
Water is back up, and more rain coming our way. pic.twitter.com/RCMjcIkPFn
— Libby Solomon (@libsolomon) May 27, 2018
This video shows the first floor of the historic buildings in Ellicott City collapsing. Very sad…
Ellicott City – AGAIN!!! 💦😔 May 27 2018 #flooding from up to 6 inches of #rain in less than 2 hours. Photo from Shannon Baranoski #flashflooding #weather #mdwx pic.twitter.com/w46473CO2O
— Justin Berk (@JustinWeather) May 27, 2018
Shocking images of debris moving down the streets of Ellicott City can be seen in the video below:
Ellicott City Flooding:
– Major flooding due to torrential rains in Ellicott City, Maryland
– Water rescues are underway
– Reports indicate that Patapsco River along Anne Arundel, Howard, and Baltimore counties is rising significantlypic.twitter.com/8XMpovGqMA— PM Breaking News (@PMBreakingNews) May 27, 2018
This fake Donald J. Trump Twitter account shows how quickly the water is rushing down the city streets:
Authorizing the National Guard to respond to Ellicott City, Maryland tonight where flash floods have inundated the town. Residents should stay in their second stories until rescuers can safely respond. Video via @JeremyHarrisTV pic.twitter.com/L2ZdDbhvxf
— DonaId J. Trump ▫️▫️▫️▫️▫️▫️▫️▫️▫️parody (@niceDonaIdTrump) May 27, 2018
Weather reports from two hours ago, show more storms headed their way. Pray for anyone who is living or visiting historic Ellicott City in Maryland:
5 PM – We call them “training storms” because it looks like they’re almost following train tracks. Unfortunately, lined up right into Ellicott City and Baltimore area today. With new cells still developing, more rain on the way. pic.twitter.com/FseonOg2PJ
— Alex Lamers (@AlexJLamers) May 27, 2018