Baltimore County Prepares for Floods, Storm Damage

No matter what Hurricane Joaquin does—the path remains uncertain—Baltimore County emergency management officials are advising citizens to prepare for heavy rains through the weekend.

FRIDAY-SATURDAY: A storm system will bring heavy rain on Friday with winds up to 25 mph that could continue Saturday, according to Baltimore County emergency personnel. Flooded roads, tree damage and inland flooding of streams and rivers are possible, officials reported.

SUNDAY-MONDAY: Beginning Sunday and lasting into Monday, Hurricane Joaquin is anticipated to bring high winds that could cause power outages and high tides that may lead to coastal flooding, Baltimore County emergency officials said in a statement.

Related: How to Prepare for a Possible Flood

The one-two punch follows soggy weather earlier in the week.

There was a record 2.58 inches of rain in Baltimore on Tuesday, Sept. 29, beating the old record of 2 inches set on that day in 1963, according to the National Weather Service.

In Reisterstown, a vehicle was “nearly swallowed” in a parking lot that evening when water levels suddenly rose, WJZ reported.

Five large pine trees also toppled over during Tuesday night’s storm in Pikesville, according to preliminary data from the National Weather Service.

With the ground already saturated, people should be extremely aware that flash floods are possible.

When drivers can’t see the ground, they should not proceed through flood waters; turn around—don’t drown.

Emergency Contacts

• Baltimore County Emergency Management
• BGE (report an outage), BGE on Twitter
• Maryland Emergency Management Agency on Twitter and Facebook
• National Hurricane Center
• Maryland Transportation Authority

Pictured, Glencoe Road flooding. Photo Credit: Baltimore County Government.