Millers Island Residents Say Flooding From Storm Is Due To Very Few Drains On Streets
MILLERS ISLAND, Md. (WJZ)-- A major cleanup effort is underway in Eastern Baltimore County a day after a severe storm triggers extreme flooding.
Rochelle Ritchie has more on the storm's impact and the status of the cleanup.
The fury of the Chesapeake Bay lashed Millers Island in Edgemere on Tuesday. Wednesday is sunny and beautiful but there's still a lot of standing water about a foot deep on Chesapeake Avenue in Millers Island. Residents, however, say the flooding they're experiencing is due to bad infrastructure.
Howling winds, flooded roads, torrential rains and fierce rains from the Chesapeake Bay are to blame for the mess left behind on Millers Island.
The hardest hit area was Chesapeake Avenue, where homeowners are cleaning up mud and trash left behind.
Slideshow: Parts Of Maryland Flooded
"We're used to it," Janice Michaud said.
Michaud has lived in Millers Island for more than 20 years and says that though it remains relatively calm, the weather has gotten progressively worse.
"Never like this 20 years ago, 10 years ago," she said. "Now this event happens two, three times a season."
High winds blew shingles off the roofs of homes.
"It's a mess everywhere," one resident said.
The avenue is no stranger to disastrous weather. In 2003, Hurricane Isabel wipes out several homes.
Tuesday's storm turned roads into shallow rivers revealing an underlying problem.
There are not a lot of drains on Chesapeake Avenue. That's part of the reason why it floods so easily. Installing drains could cost millions. The other option: More rocks to break up the waves but that bill would be paid by homeowners.
"We've been told it was $3 million more and that would be tossed to the homeowners on this part of the island," Michelle Danna-Christian, a homeowner, said. "So don't see that happening anytime soon."
While the cleanup after the storm is a nuisance, some say it is the price you pay to live by the Bay.
"That's why everybody lives here, you know, because of this," Michaud said.
The good news is that none of the homes in this area flooded. Homeowners are mainly dealing with sand, trash and mud.
