Flash floods devastate Ellicott City, Maryland for the second time in 2 years

Flooding in Ellicott City, Maryland.
(Image credit: Screenshot/Twitter/Zachary Landow)

Historic flash flooding tore through Ellicott City, Maryland, for the second time in two years on Sunday, CNN reported.

Howard County executive Alan Kittleman called the flooding "worse than July 30, 2016," the last time floodwaters caused major damage to the Ellicott City area. Many businesses were still rebuilding from that flooding, which caused two deaths and damaged "dozens of buildings," CNN explained.

No injuries or deaths have been reported yet as a result of Sunday's flooding, but officials carried out at least 30 rescues into Monday morning, CBS reported. One person was reported missing shortly after midnight: Eddison Hermond, who was a member of the Air Force and is now in the National Guard. Witnesses say he was "swept towards the Patapsco River" by the floodwaters on Sunday evening.

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The Patapsco River's water levels rose almost 18 feet within a few hours as the result of heavy rains on Sunday, bringing it to a record height of 24.13 feet, CNN reported. The flooding reached the second floors of some buildings, and one building in Ellicott City's historic downtown area has fallen.

Read more at CBS Baltimore.

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Shivani is the editorial assistant at TheWeek.com and has previously written for StreetEasy and Mic.com. A graduate of the physics and journalism departments at NYU, Shivani currently lives in Brooklyn and spends free time cooking, watching TV, and taking too many selfies.