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Severe Flooding in Ellicott City, Maryland Causes 2 Deaths, Significant Damage

  • Veronica Neffinger

    Veronica Neffinger wrote her first poem at age seven and went on to study English in college, focusing on 18th century literature. When she is not listening to baseball games, enjoying the…

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  • Updated Aug 01, 2016

Devastating flooding in the community of Ellicott City, Maryland has resulted in two deaths and significant destruction to property.

NBCNews.com reports that the city, which is about 12 miles west of Baltimore, experienced torrential rainful Saturday night. Six inches of rain fell in just two hours. The Patapsco River, which runs through the town, rose 13 feet.

Joseph Anthony Blevins, 38, and Jessica Watsula, 35, were casualties of the flooding. They were both carried off by rushing water in separate incidents.

About 100 people had to be rescued from the rushing water. One video shows residents making a human chain to rescue a woman trapped in her car.

Another resident, Joyce Healy, reported that she was driving along Main Street when she saw a Mercedes-Benz “floating back down the road.”

"I've never seen anything like this, ever," Healy told NBC station WBAL of Baltimore. "The devastation down here — I'm just really concerned about them being able to rebuild."

Maryland’s Gov. Larry Hogan visited Ellicott City on Sunday to assess the damage. He declared a state of emergency in the county and said, “We’re going to bring in whatever equipment, whatever manpower they need from every single department.”

The flooding and heavy rains were a part of the dangerous storms that threatened the mid-Atlantic and the Northeast over the weekend.

Publication date: August 1, 2016