Nearly 200 vehicles damaged in Ellicott City flooding

ELLICOTT CITY, Md. - Howard County officials said nearly 200 vehicles were damaged during Saturday's flooding caused by a severe storm.

The cleanup process of towing all of the cars away has been quite a mess and many of the vehicles caught up in the flood have been towed to the parking lot of Centennial High School.

However, many of the cars brought here appear to be a total loss due to water damage and extensive damage to the exterior of these vehicles. Police have actually taken control over the parking lot and are not letting anyone take the vehicles out of the parking lot until they get looked at by a large number of insurance claim adjusters in the area.

A vehicle owner named Patrick told FOX 5 that he would not be allowed to get his vehicle until 8 a.m. Tuesday. He said his car was parked on Main Street and was later towed to the school's parking lot. Luckily for him, his vehicle was not damaged.

"It looked like a river in the middle of street," he said. "It was absolutely crazy. You just saw cars flying down the street getting taken away by the water."

The Howard County Police Department wrote on its Facebook page:

Owners of cars that were towed from the Main Street area of Ellicott City after the weekend flooding can pick-up their cars this week, Tuesday, Aug. 2 through Sunday, Aug. 7. There will be no charge or fee to the owner.

All cars, a total of 180, were towed to the parking lots of Centennial High School, 4300 Centennial Lane, Ellicott City. Officers will be staffing the lots from 8 a.m.- 8 p.m. Owners may come directly to the school lots or call 410-313-2900 to determine if their cars were towed.

Owners should bring identification to claim their vehicles. If an owner does not have ID due to the nature of the disaster, police will attempt to verify ownership through a series of questions and other methods. Cars also may be released to insurance adjusters with appropriate documentation.

For cars that are not drivable, owners should contact their insurance companies to arrange for removal. Property may be recovered from inside the vehicles, if necessary. Any cars that are unclaimed by Sunday, Aug. 7 at 8 p.m. will be towed to a contracted storage facility at the owner's expense.

Police are still working to remove approximately 50 additional vehicles from the Main Street area.

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