 Flood damage along Main Street in Ellicott City on August 10 | |
| Date | July 30, 2016 |
|---|---|
| Location | Maryland, United States |
| Deaths | 2 [1] |
| Property damage | $22.435 million (2016 USD) [2] |
The 2016 Maryland flood was a natural disaster in the United States that took place on July 30, 2016. [3] The flooding, which occurred in the Baltimore area, affected low-lying areas of the Patapsco and Jones Falls valleys. [4] The storm caused significant damage to the historic downtown area of Ellicott City, Maryland. [5]
On the evening of July 30, a severe thunderstorm moved into the area of Ellicott City where it dumped an estimated 6 inches (15 cm) of rain in two hours. The flash flood that resulted inflicted severe damage to the area primarily on Main Street (Maryland Route 144). [1] Flooding damaged many homes, businesses, sidewalks, and landmarks, including the city's landmark clock. [6] Maryland Governor Larry Hogan declared a state of emergency and at least two people were confirmed to have died (Jessica Watsula, 35, and Joseph A. Blevins, 38). [1] [3] [7]
Main Street remained closed for more than two months as businesses and residents cleaned up from the floods and began repairing damaged buildings and sidewalks. The street reopened to vehicle and pedestrian traffic on October 6, 2016. [8] The Howard County Councilman Jon Weinstein (District 1) attempted to put a moratorium on development throughout the Tiber-Hudson watershed, but the push was ultimately unsuccessful in preventing further development. [9]
Catonsville is a census-designated place (CDP) in Baltimore County, Maryland. The population was 41,567 at the 2010 census. The community lies to the west of Baltimore along the city's border. Catonsville contains the majority of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), a major public research university with close to 14,000 students.
Ellicott City is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in, and the county seat of, Howard County, Maryland, United States. Part of the Baltimore metropolitan area, its population was 65,834 at the 2010 census, making it the most populous unincorporated county seat in the country.
Crisfield is a city in Somerset County, Maryland, United States, located on the Tangier Sound, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. The population was 2,515 at the 2020 census. It is included in the Salisbury, Maryland-Delaware Metropolitan Statistical Area. Crisfield has the distinction of being the southernmost incorporated city in Maryland.
Hurricane Isabel was the strongest Atlantic hurricane since Mitch, and the deadliest, costliest, and most intense hurricane in the 2003 Atlantic hurricane season. Hurricane Isabel was also the strongest hurricane in the open waters of the Atlantic, both by wind speed and central pressure, before being surpassed by hurricanes Irma and Dorian in 2017 and 2019, respectively. The ninth named storm, fifth hurricane, and second major hurricane of the season, Isabel formed near the Cape Verde Islands from a tropical wave on September 6, in the tropical Atlantic Ocean. It moved northwestward, and within an environment of light wind shear and warm waters, it steadily strengthened to reach peak winds of 165 mph (266 km/h) on September 11. After fluctuating in intensity for four days, during which it displayed annular characteristics, Isabel gradually weakened and made landfall on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, with winds of 105 mph (169 km/h) on September 18. Isabel quickly weakened over land and became extratropical over western Pennsylvania on the next day. On September 20, the extratropical remnants of Isabel were absorbed into another system over Eastern Canada.
Tropical Storm Allison was a tropical storm that devastated southeast Texas in June of the 2001 Atlantic hurricane season. An arguable example of the "brown ocean effect", Allison lasted unusually long for a June storm, remaining tropical or subtropical for 16 days, most of which was when the storm was over land dumping torrential rainfall. The storm developed from a tropical wave in the northern Gulf of Mexico on June 4, 2001, and struck the upper Texas coast shortly thereafter. It drifted northward through the state, turned back to the south, and re-entered the Gulf of Mexico. The storm continued to the east-northeast, made landfall on Louisiana, then moved across the southeast United States and Mid-Atlantic. Allison was the first storm since Tropical Storm Frances in 1998 to strike the northern Texas coastline.
Hurricane Agnes in 1972 was the costliest hurricane to hit the United States at the time, causing an estimated $2.1 billion in damage. The hurricane's death toll was 128. The effects of Agnes were widespread, from the Caribbean to Canada, with much of the east coast of the United States affected. Damage was heaviest in Pennsylvania, where Agnes was the state's wettest tropical cyclone. Due to the significant effects, the name Agnes was retired in the spring of 1973.
The Patapsco River mainstem is a 39-mile (63 km) river in central Maryland that flows into the Chesapeake Bay. The river's tidal portion forms the harbor for the city of Baltimore. With its South Branch, the Patapsco forms the northern border of Howard County, Maryland. The name "Patapsco" is derived from the Algonquian pota-psk-ut, which translates to "backwater" or "tide covered with froth."
Oella is a mill town on the Patapsco River in western Baltimore County, Maryland, United States, located between Catonsville and Ellicott City. It is a 19th-century village of millworkers' homes.
The New Orleans Public Library (NOPL) is the public library service of the city of New Orleans, Louisiana, United States.
Hurricane Gaston was a minimal hurricane that made landfall in South Carolina on August 29, 2004. It then crossed North Carolina and Virginia before exiting to the northeast and dissipating. The storm killed nine people – eight of them directly – and caused $130 million (2004 USD) in damage. Gaston produced torrential downpours that inundated Richmond, Virginia. Although originally designated a tropical storm, Gaston was reclassified as a hurricane when post-storm analysis revealed it had maximum sustained winds of 75 mph (120 km/h).
The Mid-Atlantic United States flood of 2006 was a significant flood that affected much of the Mid-Atlantic region of the eastern United States. The flooding was very widespread, affecting numerous rivers, lakes and communities from upstate New York to North Carolina. It was widely considered to be the worst flooding in the region since Hurricane David in 1979. It was also one of the worst floodings in the United States since Hurricane Katrina in August 2005. At least 16 deaths were related to the flooding.
In Maryland and Washington, D.C., the effects of Hurricane Isabel were among the most damaging from a tropical cyclone in the respective metropolitan area. Hurricane Isabel formed from a tropical wave on September 6, 2003, in the tropical Atlantic Ocean. It moved northwestward, and within an environment of light wind shear and warm waters, it steadily strengthened to reach peak winds of 165 miles per hour (266 km/h) on September 11. After fluctuating in intensity for four days, Isabel gradually weakened and made landfall on the Outer Banks of North Carolina with winds of 105 miles per hour (169 km/h) on September 18. It quickly weakened over land and became extratropical over western Pennsylvania the next day.
The Downtown Cumberland Historic District, also referred to as the Downtown Cumberland Mall, is the main shopping and dining district for the city of Cumberland, Maryland.
Floods in the United States (2000–present) is a list of flood events which were of significant impact to the country during the 21st century, since 2000. Floods are generally caused by excessive rainfall, excessive snowmelt, storm surge from hurricanes, and dam failure.
Ellicott City Historic District is a national historic district in Ellicott City, Howard County, Maryland. The Ellicott City Station is a National Historic Landmark located within the district. The district encompasses a predominantly 19th century mill town whose origins date to 1772, including more than 200 18th- and 19th-century buildings. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. The 2016 Maryland flood severely impacted the historic district on July 30, 2016, as did another flood on May 27, 2018.
Tropical Storm Nicole was a short-lived and unusually asymmetrical tropical cyclone that caused destructive rainfall and flooding in Jamaica during the 2010 Atlantic hurricane season. It was the sixteenth tropical cyclone and the fourteenth named storm of the season, as well as the last of eight tropical storms to form in September. Originating from a broad monsoonal low, Nicole became a tropical depression over the northwestern Caribbean Sea on September 28. It maintained an unusual structure as it tracked northeastward, with a poorly defined wind circulation and few thunderstorms near its center. Nicole approached the coast of Cuba as a weak tropical storm, losing its status as a tropical cyclone over the territory on September 29. The remnants emerged over the Bahamas and eventually became absorbed by a separate extratropical system.
The 1985 Election Day floods — also known as the Killer Floods of 1985 in West Virginia — produced the costliest floods in both West Virginia and Virginia in November 1985. The event occurred after Hurricane Juan, a tropical cyclone in the 1985 Atlantic hurricane season, meandered near the coast of Louisiana before striking just west of Pensacola, Florida late on October 31. Juan moved northward into Canada, but spawned another system that spread moderate rainfall across the Mid-Atlantic States, wetting soils. On November 3, a low pressure area developed south of Florida and moved northeastward along a cold front, bringing a plume of moisture influenced by Juan's previous track. The storm moved through the southeastern United States, stalling on November 5 west of Washington, D.C. before turning out to sea the next day. The event was known as the Election Day floods due to its concurrence with elections in Virginia.
The Patapsco Valley is a small valley surrounding the Patapsco River in central Maryland. The region is known for its historical significance as a major economic and industrial center in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
In the afternoon of May 27, 2018, after over 8 inches (20 cm) of rain in a span of two hours, the historic Main Street in Ellicott City, Maryland was flooded, just before the new flood emergency alert system was supposed to become operational. Flooding occurred throughout the Patapsco Valley, in the adjacent communities of Catonsville, Arbutus, and Elkridge, as well as the Jones Falls Valley in Baltimore.