Paid for by Citizens for Colburn Committee. Authority John W. Phillips, Jr., Treasurer

Ehrlich, Steele get look at damage done by rain
Governor observes flooding damage from helicopter
By STEVE NERY, Staff Writer
July 6, 2006

HURLOCK — Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. and Lt. Gov. Michael Steele visited Hurlock and some surrounding areas Wednesday, seeing and hearing first-hand about the damage caused by this week’s flooding and giving citizens and local officials an update on the state government’s response.

Ehrlich flew in first, while Steele was making a U.S. Senate campaign announcement in Cambridge, and headed to view the damage in other parts of the state before Steele arrived. Both assured people that the wheels are in motion to bring aid to areas devastated by the water.

Steele also toured three of the hardest hit regions, along with local officials and Del. Jeannie Haddaway, R-37B, Del. Adelaide Eckardt, R-37A, and Sen. Richard Colburn, R-Mid-Shore. Both Ehrlich and Steele credited Colburn for helping bring them to the area. Ehrlich did not visit all the areas in person but said he had looked at damage from his helicopter.

Ehrlich said he did not yet have estimates of the overall damage. His office has been in talks about finding short-term money available, he said, and he has also been looking for help from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) involved.

“We’ll get through it, we’ll get it done,” he said.

Maryland Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) Director John W. Droneburg said Ehrlich effectively called a state of emergency Sunday morning when he instructed all state agencies to provide whatever help they could. That is entirely separate and unrelated to a presidential disaster area proclamation, he said, which could come after MEMA and FEMA finish their damage assessments.

FEMA wants to make sure no more damage will result from more rainfall this week before finishing the assessment, Steele said. A disaster area proclamation would help bring money to those affected by the rainfall.

While FEMA received a public browbeating following the delayed response to Hurricane Katrina last year, state government officials present Wednesday, including Ehrlich, said they had good experiences with the agency.

People affected can look to state agencies for direction, officials said. MEMA spokesman Jeff Welsh said people who are unsure who to contact may call MEMA at 1-877-MEMA-USA (1-877-6362-872).

Those having problems with insurance claims should contact the Maryland Insurance Administrator (410-468-2000). Displaced people can call the Maryland Department of Human Resources (1-800-332-6347). Farmers with crop damage can call the Maryland Department of Agriculture (410-841-5700). People with building damage can also call MEMA.

Local authorities and MEMA officials told of the different types of destruction the rains brought, including damage to roads and railroads, crop damage and flooded homes. It did not, fortunately, cause any known serious injuries or deaths.

“Everything you learned up to this point, you throw out the window because it doesn’t apply,” said Steve Willey, who took over as Hurlock Director of Public Works just in time for the flooding. “Mother Nature has not been kind to Hurlock.”

The south area of town was hit especially hard, he said, as were portions of Main Street. A house on Noble Road was condemned because the flooding caused structural damage.

Just about any house in Hurlock with a basement was flooded, Council Member Dale Carrier said. The flooding could cause more damage in the long-term than it did this week, he added, if problems with mold, mildew, pests and loosening of mortar develop.

Damage inflicted on the freight railroad running by Hurlock and Federalsburg was “extremely unfortunate,” said David L. Ganovski, director of the Office of Freight Logistics at the Maryland Department of Transportation. Just three years ago, the state invested about $4.5 million in upgrading the railroad, he said, and now “very preliminary estimates” place the damage at $2.5 million to $4 million.

A better estimate will not be available until all the water recedes from damaged rail areas, he said. Solo Cup, Koski Enterprises and Perdue Farms are among the local companies that use the rail. All the companies affected have found short-term solutions to the downed rails, Ganovski said.

FEMA can pay for state roads, but not county or town roads, Ehrlich said. State Highway Administration District Engineer Donnie Drewer said only two state roads had been damaged — State Routes 307 and 313. A portion of State Route 16 was closed Wednesday, but only because of high water, Drewer said.

About two dozen Dorchester roads were still damaged, said Dorchester County Council President Glenn Bramble.

Hurlock and eastern Dorchester County farmers grow a lot of vegetables, which can give a good return but also requires a high-cost input, said John Burtman, executive director of the USDA’s Dorchester County Farm Service Agency. Even on fields that are not flooded, the excessive rain can lead to disease, ruining the harvest down the line, he said.

Wheat still in the fields is also in danger, he said, and likely won’t be able to be harvested for another 7 to 10 days. Standing water can reduce the crop yield for corn as well, and farmers may not even be able to plant soybeans this season, he said.

Very few farmers in the region have insurance for their vegetable crops, Burtman said, but a disaster area proclamation could make some assistance available down the road. Some vegetables, including cucumbers, could suffer 50 to 75 percent losses, said Doug Scott of the Maryland Department of Agriculture.

Bramble also urged Steele to expedite help for a local watermelon farm that had already lost 100 acres. If an irrigation pond cannot be repaired quickly, the farmer risks losing another 150 acres of crops, Bramble said, adding that the farmer employs about 100 workers for the harvest.

Federalsburg Mayor Betty Ballas, who was also present, said one of the next steps for her town is to find a way to dispose of damaged goods such as carpets. A part of Railroad Avenue and some infrastructure needs to be fixed, but she said she believed everyone was able to return to their homes.

Bramble thanked the governor for visiting, saying it meant a lot to those affected. Ehrlich shook hands with several of the volunteers who had been working round the clock, and along with other politicians, thanked police, volunteer fire departments, town workers and other volunteers.

The Hurlock Fire Department was busy from 3:30 a.m. Sunday through 2 a.m. Wednesday, Assistant Chief T.C. Coulbourne said, and had the help of seven other local volunteer fire departments. While the fire department worked to get people out of stuck cars and to prevent electrical hazards, Coulbourne said, members of the community in turn worked hard to provide them with food.

“Everybody just came here and did what they had to do,” he said.

Steele and the Mid-Shore delegation visited three areas with devastating flood damage — a large section of Palmers Mill Road that a flooded creek washed away, a section of Williamsburg where house flooding was especially bad, and the damaged Railroad Avenue in Federalsburg, which fittingly runs next to the railroad.

Everyone making their first trips to the sites repeated the same phrase: “You have to see it in person to believe it.”

“We’re here and we’ve seen a lot,” Steele said. “Now we’re going to roll up our sleeves and get to work.”