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U.S. NEWS Friday 24 august 2018

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Officials: Swath of flood-prone Maryland town must be razed

By DAVID McFADDEN nesses or visitors to be put
Associated Press at risk or fear every rain
ELLICOTT CITY, Md. (AP) — storm," he said.
Moving to safeguard the Old Ellicott City became a
public after raging flood- soggy ghost town in May
waters engulfed a Mary- after floodwaters violently
land town's main street gutted shops and swept
twice in two years, authori- a visitor to his death. The
ties have announced a treacherous flash flood oc-
plan to demolish roughly 5 curred less than two years
percent of the buildings in after a 2016 flood — at the
the flood-prone historic dis- time dubbed a 1-in-1000
trict. year event — ravaged the
Howard County Executive old town situated in a ra-
Allan Kittleman delivered vine, destroying businesses
the broad outlines of a and killing two people.
roughly $50 million five-year Ellicott City's main street
flood mitigation plan Thurs- has recently reopened to
day at a news conference vehicles and foot traffic
in Ellicott City's historic cen- but numerous properties
ter. It calls for tearing down are boarded up and the
10 ravaged properties on strenuous task of picking up
the hard-hit lower half of the pieces goes on. Busi-
the former mill town's once- nesses that did not sustain The main street of the former mill town is damaged from May floodwaters that killed a visitor and
picturesque main street. devastating damage have caused shops to be gutted Thursday, Aug. 23, 2018, in Ellicott City, Md. Associated Press
That move will expand the reopened their doors and
flood plain for the next are doing the best they
time waterways burst their can with what remains of
banks — a sure thing as the all-important summer
more intense rainstorms season.
bear down due to climate Lexi Milani, who owned
change impacts. a restaurant that was so
"I wish we weren't here. But ravaged after the 2016
this is a change we need," flash flood that it never re-
said Kittleman, adding that opened, said she was "un-
some residential properties believably sad" about the
further up the hill will also plans for razing properties
need to be bulldozed to on the hardest hit stretch
increase the size of culverts of main street. But it's the
flowing into the district, sensible move after two
about 13 miles (20 kilome- deadly floods in less than
ters) west of Baltimore. two years, she said.
County Councilman Jon "I accept that changes
Weinstein said reshaping must be made and the
swaths of Old Ellicott City town must be envisioned
won't be easy but safe- anew after this second
guarding lives in the com- catastrophic event," Milani
ing months has to be the said Thursday.
top priority. The lower part At least one business owner
of main street where build- whose property is marked
ings will be torn down will for demolition is not entire-
be replaced with green ly convinced that tearing
space and a wider, deeper down buildings is neces-
channel for tributaries flow- sary.
ing downhill. Sally Fox Tennant, whose
"We don't want to lose an- gutted crafts shop had its
other life because of cata- floors and inventory swept
strophic flooding here in away in May, said authori-
town. We don't want Elli- ties need to provide more
cott City's residents or busi- support.q