SALISBURY, MD - Relentless rain wreaked havoc across Wicomico County today, transforming once-familiar streets into waterlogged landscapes and prompting warnings for drivers to avoid certain areas. Fitzwater Street, found itself submerged, leaving pedestrians with wet boots despite walking on the sidewalk.
Road signs along Fitzwater Street were blocked off as a precautionary measure, and Route 13 offered a disconcerting spectacle as waves crashed onto the asphalt, creating challenging conditions for drivers who navigated through water up to their headlights. The unprecedented flooding extended to residential areas, turning homes into makeshift waterfront properties. Zion Road resident Brian Dennis described the extent of the flooding at his property, stating, "My entire yard is flooded, my backyard is flooded, I have water under the house."
Dennis anticipates a lengthy recovery process, noting, "This catastrophic rainfall will take at least a week to fix. We have no water. It'll take 7 days for this stuff to perk off."
Richard Marshall, of Marshall's Riverbank Nurseries, expressed his surprise at the scale of the rainfall, with more than 5 to 7 inches reported in his area. "I don't remember seeing 7 inches come in any one day before. Maybe it has, but it's been a long time since I've seen the ponds fill up like that overnight," Marshall said.
For Marshall, the urgency lies in clearing water from the quonset huts on his property to prevent damage to plants. "Where it backs up, if it stays there for 2 or 3 days, that would impact the plants that are inside," he explained.
Today will be remembered as a deluge day in Wicomico County, marking a rare occurrence of such severe flooding that has not been witnessed for quite some time.
