State of emergency to be issued as Annapolis City Dock businesses cleanup from major flooding

ANNAPOLIS -- After this week's powerful storm shut down businesses along Annapolis' Dock Street, business owners may soon be getting some much-needed help.

WJZ met with Mayor Gavin Buckley Thursday, who detailed plans to help these businesses recover. That plan involves declaring a state of emergency.

The aftermath of Tuesday's flooding can still be seen at Eagle Souvenir. Many of Young Chong's products are still in disarray and the floor still hasn't dried either.

Chong said this is far from her first flood, but Tuesday's flooding was one of the worst she's experienced in her 19 years in business.

She's still figuring out what can be salvaged. The total loss is still up in the air.

"With a lot of the t-shirts and hoodies, I have to bring it home and wash it [before I can sell it]," Chong said.

The worst part, she doesn't even know when she can try to recoup her losses since the city is forcing her and many other businesses to remain closed until further notice.

Red signs alerting the closure can still be seen on businesses' doors.

Citing sanitary concerns, the city's health department has to give the green light first before businesses can reopen.

Mayor Buckley said Tuesday's flooding was the third worst in the city's history. 

To help, he said he's declaring a state of emergency to unlock access to grants of up to $50,000.

"I'm sure some of those grants can help in their lost revenue," Buckley said. "It will help to do things like replace the drywall here."

But, that's not all.

Mayor Buckley adds they're working to get what he calls "Dutch door dams" installed at these businesses. He saw them in action on a recent trip to the Netherlands.

"They're custom for each business, so they can put them in place when the water comes," he said.

A new flood barrier from a company called "Tubebarrier" was installed for this week's storm.

All of this, coupled with the effort to elevate the City Dock area -- Mayor Buckley said it's critical to be done for businesses to stay on Dock Street.

"It's not a case of if there's gonna be another [Hurricane] Isabel, it's when is there gonna be another Isabel," he said.

Mayor Buckley said all these flood protections should be installed and ready to go by 2026.