Rescuers search for hero soldier swept away while saving others in catastrophic Maryland flash floods which toppled buildings, washed cars away, and turned streets into brown raging rivers
Fears for good Samaritan soldier swept away in epic Maryland flash floods which toppled buildings, washed cars away, and turned streets into brown raging rivers
Eddison Hermond, 39, was last seen go under the raging flood trying to help others during the Ellicott City flooding on Sunday, witnesses said he was being swept toward the Patapsco River
Dramatic dramatic images of devastated buildings and vehicles being swept away emerged on Sunday as the National Weather Service issued a flash flood emergency for the city and warned of ‘life-threatening’ situation
Maryland Governor Larry Hogan declared a state of emergency soon after due to the flash floods
The Howard County City was wracked by similar devastation two years ago when two people died in flash flooding
Still no reports of fatalities or injuries
Scenes of devastation abounded as fast-moving torrents of brown water rushed down Main Street in Ellicott City, just outside Baltimore on Sunday
A National Guardsman has gone missing after he tried to rescue people while roaring flash floods struck a Maryland city on Sunday.
Eddison Hermond was last seen trying to help others during the Ellicott City flooding when he was swept away by the waters around 5.20pm.
Howard County Executive Allan Kittleman says a man was reported missing to police about 12.30am on Monday. He is not a resident of the historic district.
Hermond, 39, of Severn, Maryland was last seen at 5:20 p.m. Sunday near La Palapa restaurant on Main Street, according to Howard County police.
Hermond and others were holding a door at the restaurant to keep water out, when a woman approached seeking help with finding a missing cat. Hermond and others went to a nearby parking lot to look.
Witnesses “saw him go under the water and not surface,” Howard County police Chief Gary Gardner said. The others made it back safely.
The search is on for National Guardsman Eddison Hermond [photo], was last seen when he was swept away by the waters during the Ellicott City, Maryland flooding, Sunday
National Guardsman Eddison Hermond was last seen trying to help others during the Ellicott City, Maryland flooding when he was swept away by the waters.
Friends frantically shared the Air Force veteran’s image on Facebook, who said witnesses saw him being swept toward Patapsco River.
Friends frantically shared the Air Force veteran’s image on Facebook and said witnesses saw him being swept toward Patapsco River.
‘Local news is saying no one is missing, but we don’t know where our brother is,’ Bonnie Hoppa wrote on Facebook.
‘Please, please, please, if you know where Eddison is, we are extremely worried.’
As of Monday morning Hermond [photo], was still missing
Howard County officials have since confirmed that one person is missing and swift water rescue, trucks, and ATVs have been deployed in search efforts. As of Monday morning Hermond was still missing.
Kittleman said emergency workers are ‘making every effort to locate that individual’.
Hoppa described Hermond as 6ft tall with an ‘athletic build’. He was last seen wearing a white T-shirt and black shorts.
Violent floodwaters surged through Ellicott City on Sunday, sweeping away dozens of cars and toppling buildings as more than 8 inches of rain dumped down in five hours.
Maryland Governor Larry Hogan has since declared a state of emergency for all of Maryland.
Violent floodwaters surged through Main street on Sunday, sweeping away dozens of cars and toppling buildings [photo], as more than 8 inches of rain dumped down in five hours.
Photos and video emerged showing fast-moving torrents of brown water rushing through down town Ellicott City in Maryland’s Howard County.
Man caught up in the storm desperately trying to stay afloat as automobiles are swept along as violent floodwaters surged through Ellicott City, MD on Sunday. the man was rescued moments after this image was captured
‘Less than two years ago, the citizens of Howard County and Ellicott City went through a horrific ordeal, and sadly, they are facing a similar emergency today,’ Hogan said.
Footage taken by one witness showed the town’s historic stone cottage being completely swept away and destroyed by the turbulent currents.
A man was captured in one video desperately trying to reach safety as half a dozen cars floated near him. The woman who shot the video, Natalie Walterhoefer, said the man was rescued moments later and was safe.
Other videos showed waves of water rushing through the city’s Main Street as it surged as high as six feet at the height of the flash flooding.
The city’s historic stone buildings were damaged, some washed away by flash floods with the raging waters engulfing cars and rising above the first floor of some buildings
An SUV is crushed by the force of the torrents as waves of water rushing through the city’s Main Street engulfed cars and reached as high as six-foot
Photos [L-R], show the force of the flood waters that raged through Maryland’s Ellicott City on Sunday
The horror flash flooding in Maryland transformed streets into raging rivers as torrential rain soaked much of the state. The National Weather Service issued a flash flood emergency for the city, warning that it was a catastrophic and life-threatening situation. The Patapsco River rose 17.8 feet in two hours to 24.13 feet, beating the previous record of 23.6 feet.
A spokeswoman in Baltimore County said the fire department has received dozens of calls about cars stuck in high water and flooded basements. Thirty rescues were carried out into Monday morning, officials told CNN.
After the floodwaters receded by 8.30pm, emergency officials had no immediate reports of fatalities or injuries. One person remained missing.
The devastation left behind by the receding water on Sunday. Wrecked cars were strewn across Main Street in Ellicott City
Aftershock: Building damaged by flood waters is marked by inspectors
City inspectors and rescue personnel examine damage on Main Street after a flash flood rushed through the historic town of Ellicott City, for the second time since 2016
Downtown Ellicott City including Main Street remained blocked off, even to residents and business owners, as flood damaged vehicles were towed from the area on Monday
By nightfall first responders and rescue officials were still going through the muddied, damaged downtown, conducting safety checks and ensuring people evacuated.
Main Street remained blocked off, even to residents and business owners, on Monday.
NBC reported further flood warnings remained for the Anne Arundel, Prince Georges, and Howard counties on Monday, but the threat of more heavy rain and flash flooding has passed.
But left in its wake is a town that must rebuild after only just recently recovering from similar destruction as the same community set along the west bank of Maryland’s Patapsco River was stricken by deadly flash flooding in 2016.
Ellicott City, just outside Baltimore city, for the second time in as many years suffered from devastating flood waters as authorities urged residents on Sunday to seek higher ground immediately and people were being warned to avoid the downtown area
Homes that survived the 2016 flood in the same area were not safe this time around as the water could be seen rushing through Main Street in Ellicott City on Sunday, sweeping along vehicles and household property in it’s wake
Main Street, where the devastation occurred in Ellicott City on Sunday, is the same area struck by flash flooding in July 2016. In that flood, Ellicott City received 6.6 inches of rain over a two to three hour period.
According to Baltimore Sun residents of Ellicott City believe the flooding is worse than a storm two years ago that took lives and destroyed local businesses. Officials said 96 percent of the businesses hit by the flooding were open again before Sunday’s catastrophe hit, and more than 20 new businesses had opened on Main Street.
Now may are being forced to decide once again if they will rebuild.
The city had just this month received $1million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to fund projects that would help reduce Main Street’s flood risk.
‘It took two years to get the money and it’s ironic that we just got it this month,’ Gov Hogan said.
‘Nobody expected another storm of this magnitude to come two years later because, as I said, they’re only supposed to happen every 1,000 years.’
First responders and rescuers carried out search and rescue operations in Ellicott City, but as the flood waters increased in intensity, authorities started to carry out water rescues in the streets with hoists. Local fire departments received dozens of distress calls from stranded residents on Sunday
Ellicott City’s Main Street, where the devastation occurred on Sunday is the same area struck by flash flooding in July 2016
Kittleman said he considers the damage worse than the flooding two summers ago.
‘It’s hard for me to even understand how this could happen two years later, but clearly this is worse than it was in July of 2016,’ he said. ‘I want to make it very clear to everyone, this is worse.’
‘A lot of the businesses’ first floors are gone like they were two years ago.’
Kittleman said he was ‘heartbroken’ to see the city so severely damaged again so soon. ‘They are faced with the same daunting task again,’ Kittleman said of the the city’s residents and business owners. ‘We will be there for them as we were in 2016,’ he said.
Mike Muccilli, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Sterling, Virginia, said it was too early to make comparisons between the two floods but said both were devastating.
‘In a normal heavy rain event, you wouldn’t see this amount of flooding, where you see cars floating down the road,’ Muccilli said. ‘This was a true flash flood.’
As cars and homes were engulfed by the torrents of water rushing Ellicott City [photo], on Sunday afternoon, authorities urged residents to seek higher ground immediately and people were being warned to avoid downtown Ellicott City.
Authorities said they had no immediate reports of any fatalities but rescue crews were still checking flooded buildings and streets.
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