Ellicott City, Maryland, 'looks like a movie disaster scene' after severe flash flooding

The aftermath of severe flooding in Ellicott City, Maryland — (Image credit: WUSA9/Screenshot)

Heavy thunderstorms produced flash flooding in central Maryland Saturday night that closed roads and necessitated emergency rescues. Residents of Baltimore were warned of rising waters and encouraged to move to higher ground, but the worst damage was done in nearby Ellicott City.

The historic downtown area saw businesses flooded with several feet of water and cars overturned in the streets. One person has been reported dead and two remained missing as of Sunday morning. About 100 people were rescued from what Maryland Lt. Gov. Boyd Rutherford said "looks like a movie disaster scene."

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Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.