Eddison Hermond was last seen rushing to the aid for stricken citizens in Ellicot City when he was swept away at around 5.20pm yesterday
FEARS are growing for a National Guardsman who has gone missing as he worked to rescue people during the Maryland floods.
Eddison Hermond was last seen rushing to the aid for stricken citizens in Ellicot City when he was swept away at around 5.20pm yesterday.
Howard County Executive Allan Kittleman said Monday morning that his priorities are finding the missing 39-year-old and assessing the condition of buildings that house shops, restaurants and families.
"We're certainly making every effort to locate that individual," he said.
Hermond was reported missing to police about 12:30 a.m. Monday, but has not been seen since about 5:20 p.m. at the height of the flooding, when raging, brown waters ripped through the town.
The area remained blocked off Monday, even to residents and business owners, as Kittleman surveyed the debris.
"If you look at the devastation and the damage, I would certainly say it's worse than 2016," he said. "We've had areas that were not even damaged at all two years ago terribly damaged this time."
At a news conference Sunday night, Kittleman and Gov. Larry Hogan vowed to help people rebuild their lives again.
"We will be there for them as we were in 2016," Kittleman said.
Hogan promised "every bit of assistance we possibly can."
"They say this is a once every 1,000-year flood and we've had two of them in two years," Hogan said.
Flash floods tore through Maryland, USA last weekend which saw roads turn into rivers, toppling buildings and engulfing parked cars in the violent storms.
News outlets showed photos and video of sudden floodwaters surging down Main Street in Ellicott City, 13 miles west of Baltimore.
The community, set along the west bank of Maryland's Patapsco River, was also stricken by deadly flash flooding in July 2016.
But this time the flash flooding came with a roar of onrushing water after hours of heavy rain had soaked the region around Baltimore.
"This is a catastrophic and life-threatening extremely dangerous situation," the weather alert warned.
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.
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan has declared a state of emergency in a community west of Baltimore hit by flash floods.
Footage of Sunday's flash flooding showed the seething floodwaters engulfing cars and pickup trucks, as well as toppling Ellicott City's historic stone cottage.
The Howard County Fire & EMS agency tweeted that water was above the first floor of some buildings at the height of the disaster.
Some residents of Ellicott City told The Baltimore Sun the flooding appeared to be worse than the 2016 flooding that killed two people and destroyed local businesses.
Jessica Ur, a server at Pure Wine Cafe on the city's Main Street, told the paper she watched as gushing waters swept three or four parked cars down the street.
She had been around the last time the area flooded, but said this time it appeared worse.
"It's significantly higher than it was before," she told the newspaper, comparing the floodwaters to those of 2016.
Mike Muccilli, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Sterling, Virginia, said it's too early to make comparisons between the two floods, but he said both were devastating.
In July 2016, Ellicott City received 6.6 inches of rain over a three hour period.
On Sunday, the community received nearly 8 inches of rain over six hours, but most of it fell during an intense, three hour period, Muccilli said.
"In a normal heavy rain event, you wouldn't see this amount of flooding, where you see cars floating down the road," Muccilli said. "This was a true flash flood."
Howard County Executive Allan Kittleman said authorities aren't aware of any fatalities or missing people. But officials were just beginning to assess the damage.
Kittleman said he was "heartbroken" by seeing it so severely damaged again since the flooding of 2016, and considers the damage worse than the flooding two summers ago.
Some people reported hearing a blaring alarm during the flooding, while others said they gathered in the second story of a building to anxiously watch the seething waters.
A handmade, white flag also hung from an upper story of a Main Street building bearing the letters SOS.
"If you are trapped, we are coming," the Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue Services tweeted.
It added that multiple rescues were carried out, and rescue swimmers were called in.
Swift water units from as far away as Northern Virginia also were summoned.
Ellicott City has been rebuilding since the 2016 flooding damaged and destroyed businesses.
Local officials recently said that 96 per cent of the businesses were back in operation and more than 20 new businesses had again opened in the Main Street area.
Just two weeks ago, it was announced that the Federal Emergency Management Agency had awarded the state and county more than $1 million to pay for projects aimed at reducing the flood risk in areas around Main Street.
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