Ellicott City Strong: Hogan Requests Assistance for Business & Property Owners
ELLICOTT CITY, Md. (WJZ)--It's been more than a week since the deadly flash flooding in Ellicott City.
Clean up and recovery efforts along Main Street have seen their highs and lows.
WJZ is witness to it all from the large community response in helping.
But for business owner Mi Schill Kim normal still feels like a long time away.
"When I went down on Sunday it was really bad and smell, I can't explain what kind of smell, but the smell also bad," she said.
Howard County officials have once again closed off access to Main Street allowing engineers to examine the safety of the buildings. The hope is to reopen the road by the weekend to allow for clean up.
Bob Frances with the Department of Inspections, Licensing and Permits tells WJZ initial worry that two buildings that were at risk of collapse are no longer a threat.
"We may not lose any buildings and you can see the demeanor change I think it's a real story of hope," says Frances.
Hope is also motivating cleanup efforts beyond Main Street.
WJZ met up with members of the environmental group "Ready" as they clean up debris in the channels heading towards downtown.
"What we're doing here is just minimal compared to what we're going to find down there," said officials.
Tuesday Governor Hogan announced his efforts to convince to the U.S. Small Business Administration to declare a physical disaster declaration.
The governor saying in part: "If approved, this disaster declaration will go a long way in providing access to the loans our citizens need to repair damages and continue the rebuilding process."
To learn how you can help the Ellicott City flood victims CLICK HERE.