Crews were engaged in multiple water rescues and buildings collapsed in historic Ellicott City on Sunday evening as floodwaters raged through its streets after torrential thunderstorms, Howard County, Md., officials said.
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan declared a state of emergency in Howard County and traveled there late Sunday to assess the damage.
The Howard County Fire Department warned people trapped on the city's Main Street to climb to the second floors of buildings as they awaited rescue and said the damage could rival floods that occurred there in 2016 and killed two people.
After the floodwaters receded, emergency officials had no immediate reports of fatalities or injuries. But by nightfall first responders and rescue officials were still going through the muddied, damaged downtown, conducting safety checks and ensuring people evacuated.
The Fire Department warned people to stay away and said hundreds of rescuers were converging on Ellicott City from as far away as northern Virginia.
Mike Muccilli, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Sterling, Va., said the community received nearly 8 inches of rain over a 6-hour period on Sunday, but most of it fell during an intense, 3-hour period.
Abigail Conte, 19, was at the Bean Hollow coffee shop in the historic section of the city when the rains began. She said the staff announced the shop was closing because of the flood warning.
She left the shop and began to make her way to her car about a half-mile away.
"As I was walking outside, the street was becoming a river," Conte said.
She came to an intersection where it became too dangerous to continue. She eventually sought shelter at Cottage Antiques. She said she was trapped on the second floor of the building for several hours, hunkered down in a back room because she was afraid a utility pole might collapse on the shop.
Information for this article was contributed by staff members of The Associated Press.
A Section on 05/28/2018