The water, like, totally surged super fast, leaving local emergency responders in the dust and trapping almost 200 students and staff inside Westernport Elementary School in Maryland’s Allegany County. Outside, Georges Creek had already overflowed, flooding homes and streets, while rain just kept coming down in the mountain town.
Emergency peeps were scrambling to get rescue teams together from nearby counties, and crews from Montgomery, Frederick, and Howard County were sent in to help out. By the time each and every one of the stranded students was rescued by boats, the first floor of the school was totally underwater. Tragically, in Virginia, a kiddo didn’t make it after being swept away by the floodwaters.
Good news is, no lives were lost in the May 13 floods in Maryland, but folks are left with questions. Like, why wasn’t the school shut down earlier when the National Weather Service had already issued a flash flood warning before the creek overflowed? And what’s the plan for next time this kind of storm hits?
Judy Hamilton, mayor of Westernport, spilled the tea in an interview with Inside Climate News, saying, “We were ready, like, we thought we were, but the water was just too fast, you know? It was almost flooding when they gave the warning. We barely had time to do anything.” She even left a voicemail for Gov. Wes Moore on the day of the flooding, and he called back that same night offering to help out. Talk about a speedy response!
