ELLICOTT CITY, Md. — Howard County leadership instituted some proactive measures in case there was flooding this year.
In a town that’s no stranger to flooding, some business owners did not want to take a chance.
The flash flood watch made a lot of Old Ellicott City business owners anxious, so many like Mark Hemmis with Phoenix Upper Main did not open out of an abundance of caution.
"We saw what happened down in Louisiana and we understand that we’re never scheduled to get that level of damage or destruction but the strain on the first responders throughout the country we didn’t want to be a distraction if there was an emergency down here," he said.
A few businesses did open, but were ready to close early if needed.
The county is in the middle of working through its long-term flood mitigation plan, some of which was delayed by COVID. But they are using all the resources they have to keep people safe.
"We learned throughout 2016 and 2018 the cars parked along the street actually acted as projectiles so one of the things I did was ensure there were no cars parked along main street," said County Executive Calvin Ball. "There are also high ground signs and police check points."
Editor's Note: An earlier version of this story stated Howard County Schools was closing at 11am on September 1st. That information was not accurate. We apologize for the confusion caused.
