The Rain, it Doth Rain Every Day

Hershey Park had to close last week due to flooding.

Technically, it didn't rain Saturday or Sunday.  BUT, we have had rain every single stinking day this month.  I didn't think rain bothered me that much up until Friday.  I've had enough.  Too bad that the forecast is calling for still more rain this week.

Our creeks are flooded.  The rivers are high.  Basements are damp.  But surprisingly enough, Ellicott City has not flooded.  I was at a meeting in Catonsville late last week.  I stopped by the Catonsville Library to look around, and then I headed home through old Ellicott City.  I heard that the main road was reopened, and I was curious to have a look around.  As I drove down the hill towards the bridge, I looked to my left and saw a full - a very full - river.  With another thunderstorm looming, I was thinking that the river would flood again.  The river was so full, I was surprised that they were still letting traffic go across the bridge into town.  I found out later I was in the last of the cars that was allowed to cross the bridge before the county shut it down over fears that it would flood.

No, Ellicott City did not flood.  But our basement did.

Yeah- here's another part of the story.

Our basement flooded last weekend.  Husband and I went out and did what we could to alleviate the water coming into the basement, and then I went out and bought a dehumidifier.  After 24 hours of almost constant running, we discovered that the water wasn't actually collecting in the bucket.  It was running down the side of the dehumidifier and down onto the floor.  Husband decided to "fix" it by putting the dehumidifier in a large rubbermaid tote.  I walked down about an hour later to see the dehumidifier, sitting on two wooded boards in a rubber tote filled with about an inch of water.   Something's wrong with this picture.

Anyway, I took the dehumidifier back on Monday.  I'll get another one, but I don't think I'm going to be getting the same brand, and I'm not going back to THAT store!

The sky Friday evening on the way home.

One last story about the flooding.  I close on Monday nights.  It's dark when I come home.  I drive over a tiny little "crick" with a tiny little bridge on my way home.  Monday night, I was driving the CRV when I drove up to that tiny little "crick".  Because it was dark and pouring down rain, I couldn't tell that I had hit water - a LOT of water - until I drove into it.  I wasn't sure the car was going to make it through.  That tiny little crick had completely covered the road - and the water came up over the hubcaps on my CRV.  If it weren't for the 4 Wheel Drive and the higher clearance, I'm not certain that I wouldn't have been on the news.  You know, as fodder for the 24 hours news cycle with the headline that read "Idiot Librarian Receives Overdue Notice on Standing Water".

As I write this on Monday morning, the sky has clouded over and rain is in the forecast for yet another week.... 

Oella, Catonsville, and Ellicott City flood - AGAIN

Last weekend, we had major flooding in Ellicott City, Oella, and Catonsville.  There was some residual flooding in Sykesville, and lots of roads that are still closed due to road beds that have washed away.  In case if you haven't been following the story, this is the second major flooding event in two years.  This one was worse than the last one.  Much worse.

Over the weekend, I was down close to Historic Ellicott City.  My favorite restaurant is located just up the hill from the historic district.  The road is closed just after the intersection.  When I got to the intersection, I saw a dump truck backing DOWN the hill to the Historic District.  That road is a very tiny, two lane windy road.  And the dump trucks are going downhill backwards - so that they can get their beds filled and come back up again.   There's no space down there for them to turn around.

I can't tell you the number of people I know who's basements in Catonsville, Oella, and Ellicott City have been flooded with 20 or more inches of water.  The fire department was kept constantly busy, helping people pump out their basements. 

From the Baltimore Sun, a timeline of the flooding:
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/weather/bs-md-ellicott-city-flooding-timeline-20180530-story.html

I posted pictures about the last time E.C. flooded here:

http://mini-van-mom.blogspot.com/2016/08/ellicott-city-flooding.html


If you'd like to follow the clean up and recovery, you can follow this group on Facebook:

Patapsco Valley Heritage Area

This page is updating the progress of the clean up in and around the Ellicott City area.

Ellicott City Flooding

We had a devastating 1,000 year flooding event in Ellicott City on Saturday night.  6 inches of rain fell in two hours, and the Historic District was destroyed.  Businesses and homes were destroyed, and it is sounding as if the damage is so extensive that many of the buildings might have to be torn down.  As of now, there is a chunk of the Historic Area that is still off limits.  Homeowners are unable to get into their homes for the forseeable future.

This hits very close to home.  We have friends who own businesses downtown.  They've lost EVERYTHING and have no income for the forseeable future.  We have friends who have lost their homes in the flooding and are now living with family.  We have friends who are unable to get to their homes because the only ingress/egress out of their neighborhood is through streets that no longer exist - they are now sink holes that go down to the bedrock. The pictures don't catch the horror of jobs and dreams crushed within minutes by a flash flood.  More immediate for these small businesses is the question of the complete and sudden loss of income. 

In the meantime, I'm going to attempt to capture something of the scope of the disaster.   
Tomorrow, I'll return to my regularly scheduled blog posts.
Today, send some thoughts to the people affected by the flooding, and to the two families who lost loved ones in the flooding Saturday night.

I have here a few pictures that I've taken over the years in Ellicott City:

The bridge over the river from Howard to Baltimore County.

The view up Main Street - from the intersection just past the bridge.

See this quiet little river?  This is what destroyed a city.

Pictures and news from the days after the flooding:  Video Source: The Washington Post

source: The Washington Post

Governor Larry Hogan's Facebook Album of his visit to Ellicott City: Ellicott City Flooding

PHOTOS: Raging floodwaters rip through Ellicott City, Maryland: At least two people have been found dead in the aftermath of disastrous flooding near Baltimore on Saturday.
(Note: Link to an external site: Acuweather.com)


Ellicott City Looks Like 'War Zone' After Deadly Flash Flooding: A Baltimore County man and a Pennsylvania woman were killed when flash floods swept through Ellicott City, Baltimore and other parts of Maryland on Saturday, leaving a trail of devastation in their wake, state and local officials said at a Sunday afternoon news conference.
(Note: Link to an external web site: WJZ - the Baltimore CBS Affiliate.)

There has been flooding over the weekend in both New Jersey and Maryland.  If you'd like to help with the relief efforts, you can donate to the American Red Cross:  https://www.redcross.org/donate/donation

If you'd like to donate to the Ellicott City Relief Fund, you can donate here:  https://ecpartnership.org/#donate