ELLICOTT CITY, MD – Howard County Executive Calvin Ball released the below statement, following the weather event on Sunday, August 18th, 2024:
“At 9:48 p.m. on Sunday, August 18th, the National Weather Service issued a Flash Flood Warning for Northeastern Howard County, including Historic Ellicott City. During the course this severe storm, Howard County saw approximately three inches of rainfall in Ellicott City over a short period of time. The rapid rate of rainfall caused limited, temporary flooding in the West End of Historic Ellicott City. Throughout the course of the storm, there was no apparent flooding to businesses on Upper or Lower Main Street.
Earlier in the day, the Howard County Office of Emergency Management activated the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) to monitor the storm and coordinate preemptive responses with public safety personnel. Immediately after the Flash Flood Warning was issued, the Howard County Police Department moved quickly to shut down Main Street to vehicular traffic.
Additionally, the Historic Ellicott City Outdoor Tone Alert System was activated at 9:48 p.m., notifying residents of the Flash Flood Warning and directing people in the vicinity of Historic Ellicott City to seek higher ground. The Outdoor Tone Alert System was activated again at 10:00 p.m. The National Weather Service also activated a Wireless Emergency Alert to all cell phones within their defined warning area, including Historic Ellicott City. We commend all our public safety personnel for their quick actions to monitor the storm and implement flood safety measures to protect our residents, businesses, and visitors.
As of 11:04 PM, there are more than 1,280 power outages countywide. To report a power outage to MyBGE, call 1-877-778-2222, visit bge.com/outage or text “OUT” to MYBGE (69243). For Potomac Edison customers, to report an outage call 1-888-LIGHTSS, visit firstenergycorp.com/outages or text “OUT” to 54487.
During the storm, the only reported road closures were in Historic Ellicott City, where HCPD manually closed roadways as a precaution.
We will continue to monitor the remaining impacts of this storm. Since taking office in December of 2018, we have prioritized flood safety measures and flood mitigation projects to limit the impact of flash flooding on Main Street. These efforts include a comprehensive debris clearing program, which has removed more than 90,000 pounds of debris from the waterways in and around Ellicott City. We also launched the Outdoor Tone Alert System and High Ground Access Gates to provide early warning of potential flood events. Under our Ellicott City Safe and Sound Plan, we have completed construction on two major flood mitigation ponds – H7 and Quaker Mill – which have the combined capacity to hold up to 7.5 million gallons of water. This Summer, we began construction on two additional projects – the H4 Pond and the North Tunnel – which will further strengthen flood mitigation for Historic Ellicott City.
While we remain vigilant, these storm events underscore the importance of our ongoing impactful investments in flood mitigation and prevention. While we still have much to do, we continue to make tangible and visible progress for our community.”
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