Ellicott City residents, owners get 1st glimpse of flood-ravaged Main Street

To get to downtown historic Ellicott City's Main Street, residents and business owners are being escorted in golf carts. The city has put up fences, with gates to keep the public — including looters — out. (WTOP/Neal Augenstein)
To get to downtown historic Ellicott City’s Main Street, residents and business owners are being escorted in golf carts. The city has put up fences, with gates to keep the public — including looters — out. (WTOP/Neal Augenstein)
(WTOP/Neal Augenstein)
(WTOP/Neal Augenstein)
On a normal day, Tiber Creek flows right behind homes and businesses in Ellicott City, Maryland. (WTOP/Neal Augenstein)
On a normal day, Tiber Creek flows right behind homes and businesses in Ellicott City. (WTOP/Neal Augenstein)
abandoned vehicles in high water in Ellicott City, Maryland
Several abandoned vehicles are enveloped by floodwaters in Ellicott City, Md., on Sunday, May 27, 2018. Howard County officials have advised people to seek higher ground immediately and have warned drivers not to attempt to drive through high water. (WTOP/Dave Dildine)
This image made from video provided by DroneBase shows damage by floodwaters near the intersection of Ellicott Mills Drive and Main Street in Ellicott City, Md., Monday, May 28, 2018. Howard County Executive Allan Kittleman said Monday morning that his priorities are finding a missing man and assessing the condition of buildings that house shops, restaurants and families. (DroneBase via AP)
Residents gather by a bridge to look at cars left crumpled in one of the tributaries of the Patapsco River that burst its banks as it channeled through historic Main Street in Ellicott City, Md., Monday, May 28, 2018. Sunday’s destructive flooding left the former mill town heartbroken as it had bounded back from another destructive storm less than two years ago. (AP Photo/David McFadden)
Destroyed chunks of roadway rest after being washed into a riverbed just off Main Street in flood-ravaged Ellicott City, Md., Monday, May 28, 2018. Sunday’s destructive flooding left the former mill town heartbroken as it had bounded back from another destructive storm less than two years ago. (AP Photo/David McFadden)
A car that was swept into the riverbank rests just off Main Street in flood-ravaged Ellicott City, Md., Monday, May 28, 2018. Sunday’s destructive flooding left the former mill town heartbroken as it had bounded back from another destructive storm less than two years ago. (AP Photo/David McFadden)
Rescue personnel walk along Main Street in Ellicott City, Md., Sunday, May 27, 2018. Roaring flash floods struck the Maryland city Sunday that had been wracked by similar devastation two years ago, its main street turned into a raging river that reached the first floor of some buildings and swept away parked cars, authorities and witnesses say. (Libby Solomon/The Baltimore Sun via AP)
Debris runs through a car in Ellicott City on Sunday, May 27, 2018 during a flood. (WTOP/Dave Dildine)
Debris runs through a car in Ellicott City on Sunday, May 27, 2018 during a flood. (WTOP/Dave Dildine)
Flood waters ravaged Main Street in Ellicott City on May 27, 2018. (Courtesy Twitter user Max Robinson/@DieRobinsonDie)
Two days after floodwaters ravaged Main Street in Ellicott City, residents and business owners can get a brief, escorted visit to their properties. (Courtesy Twitter user Max Robinson/@DieRobinsonDie)
Water rushes through Main Street in Ellicott City, Md., Sunday, May 27, 2018. Flash flooding and water rescues are being reported in Maryland as heavy rain soaks much of the state. (Libby Solomon/The Baltimore Sun via AP)
Flooding overtakes Main Street in Ellicott City, Maryland, after heavy rains and storms on Sunday, May 27, 2018. (WTOP/Dave Dildine)
Flooding overtakes Main Street in Ellicott City, Maryland, after heavy rains and storms on Sunday, May 27, 2018. (WTOP/Dave Dildine)
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To get to downtown historic Ellicott City's Main Street, residents and business owners are being escorted in golf carts. The city has put up fences, with gates to keep the public — including looters — out. (WTOP/Neal Augenstein)
On a normal day, Tiber Creek flows right behind homes and businesses in Ellicott City, Maryland. (WTOP/Neal Augenstein)
abandoned vehicles in high water in Ellicott City, Maryland
Debris runs through a car in Ellicott City on Sunday, May 27, 2018 during a flood. (WTOP/Dave Dildine)
Flood waters ravaged Main Street in Ellicott City on May 27, 2018. (Courtesy Twitter user Max Robinson/@DieRobinsonDie)
Flooding overtakes Main Street in Ellicott City, Maryland, after heavy rains and storms on Sunday, May 27, 2018. (WTOP/Dave Dildine)

ELLICOTT CITY, Md. — For the first time since Sunday’s flash flooding, residents and business owners are able to get a personal look at damage wrought by the torrents of murky brown water flowing down Main Street — at least for a few minutes.

The Howard County government is orchestrating escorted visits to Main Street, Tuesday, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., but only for credentialed residents, business owners and property owners.

The historic downtown is cordoned-off, behind yellow police tape, manned by local and state law enforcement, in part for public safety, and also to reduce the possibility of looting.

One of the first residents at the chain link fence blocking access was Kay Robbins, who owns two Main Street properties, and runs her architectural firm from a second story unit.

“We’re going to try to get out the computer, so we can set up our business in my house, up the street,” she said.

Robbins said the 2016 flood resulted in having to take out a half-million dollar loan for repairs and renovations, including $30,000 to clean mud from the basement of her properties.

She’s hopeful they weathered Sunday’s storm.

“When we fixed our building last time, we were anticipating this would happen again,” Robbins said, of her 2016 rebuild. “We were wishing it wouldn’t happen so soon.”

Robbins had taken several steps to make the buildings more resilient, since they literally have the Tiber Creek flowing beneath it. If she steps onto her back patio and looks down, she sees the creek running below.

“It’s normally so well behaved,” she said of the waterway, which snakes along Main Street. During Sunday’s flash flooding, the raging creek washed away a 25-foot portion of Ellicott Mills Drive, near its intersection with Main Street.

“We concreted up all the openings in the basement, and put in pressure-treated materials,” she said. “Hopefully, it worked.”

“Originally, those buildings were done as a perfect historic preservation, with all original materials,” Robbins said. “This time we pretty much used disposable materials, knowing we could just rip it out and replace it.”

Despite the financial challenges the 2016 and 2018 floods pose, she said the historic charm and beauty of buildings along a normally-quiet creek has rooted her in Ellicott City and allowed her to get low-interest loans to restore her properties after the July 2016 devastation.

“This was a mill town, and so everybody wanted to be here because they used water power for the mills,” she said. “Our building up there still has a mill in the basement, a beautiful old historic thing.”

For access, residents and business and property owners will have to check in at the George Howard Building, at 3430 Court House Drive.

According to the county’s flood recovery website participants will be transported on a first-come-first-served basis to Main Street, where they will be allowed 10 minutes in their property to look around and gather as many personal belongings as they can manage to carry.

No personal cars will be allowed in the downtown area.

Some will likely snap photos of the damage, since contractors and guests will not be granted access, according to the county.

When visiting the flood-ravaged area, sturdy work or hiking boots are recommended, as well as long pants and long-sleeved shirts, work gloves and eye protection. A flashlight would be useful in the case of power outages.

For more information, residents can call 410-313-2900, or visit the county’s flood recovery site.

Neal Augenstein

Neal Augenstein has been a general assignment reporter with WTOP since 1997. He says he looks forward to coming to work every day, even though that means waking up at 3:30 a.m.

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