Howard County police have released a series of 911 calls placed during the deadly flooding in Ellicott City.
Flood waters tore through the streets of Ellicott City, Maryland, Saturday -- killing two people and causing extensive damage to property and infrastructure. Six inches of rain fell in two hours, causing the Patapsco River to gush through streets.
On Wednesday, police released a series of frantic 911 calls placed during the historic flooding.
"Oh my God," a woman exclaimed in one call. "The water is above the door. It's coming into the building."
Minutes later, she begins to scream.
"What's happening?," the 911 dispatcher asked.
"The floor is buckling. The water is coming in and pushing up the floor," the woman said.
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The group eventually found stairs in the building and moved to higher ground.
Many of the calls released came from businesses along Main Street.
In one call, a man calling from a restaurant reports the business' first floor has flooded, and about 100 people have moved to the second floor.
"There's nowhere for them to go. It's rapidly rising," he said.
The historic flooding proved deadly for two people. Police identified the victims as 35-year-old Jessica Watsula of Lebanon, Pennsylvania, and 38-year-old Joseph Anthony Blevins of Windsor Mill, Maryland.
Police said Watsula's body was found about 2:20 a.m. Her brother told police that she and family members were visiting Ellicott City when the flooding happened. They were inside Watsula's vehicle, trying to leave, when the vehicle was swept away. Everyone but Watsula managed to escape the vehicle.
A man walking a trail discovered Blevins' body washed up on shore near Ilchester Road about 8:30 a.m., police said.
Police said Blevins was in Ellicott City with his girlfriend. Their vehicle was swept away with the couple inside. His girlfriend got out of the vehicle and was rescued, but Blevins was swept away.
"This was a terrible, terrible, horrific incident before we knew two people had died. That just makes it so much more horrific," Howard County Executive Allan Kittleman said during the news conference.
