15 Years Later, Hurricane Isabel's Wrath Still Remembered
ESSEX, Md. (WJZ) -- Hurricane Isabel pushed a storm surge up the Chesapeake Bay in September 2013, flooding Annapolis and triggering water rescues in Baltimore.
But among the hardest hit were waterfront communities in Eastern Baltimore County like Bowleys Quarters and Essex.
The surge coupled with high tides rose quickly.
At the time, Rob Poleski of Bill's Boats Marina said :there was neck deep water right here. About five feet of water right there."
Howard Maciver was asleep in his Wilson Point home and on Tuesday he recalled the day.
"[The] volunteer fire company came and banged on my door and said we request that you leave. Whoa," Maciver said.
He helped his next door neighbors walk out through rising water.
"Just about up to your hip, maybe not quite that. All depends on how tall you are," Maciver added.
His home was among the 34,000 impacted by Isabel statewide, from flooded basements to flooded out.
Damage in Maryland totaled just under $1 billion.
"We lost the one side of our shop, the other side, the boats went right through it," said Poleski in 2003.
At the time, Mike Harris of Water's Edge told WJZ, "I had to tear out all the sheetrock, new trim, new floors, new heating system."
Fifteen years later, Isabel is more than a memory -- it's also a lesson.
"Yeah,' said Maciver. "This pointed out what nature can do, if she gets mad at you."
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