A day after the remnants of Hurricane Debby blew through the Baltimore region, businesses began reopening, neighborhoods cleaned up storm debris and some awaited the restoration of electrical power.
Less than 300 customers remained without power Saturday afternoon, Baltimore Gas and Electric reported at 5:50 p.m.
In a post on X, BGE said, since the storm, more than 46,000 customers have had power restored after high winds knocked down trees and branches. The company anticipates service restoration to most customers by 11 p.m. Saturday.
“We know being without power is difficult and we appreciate your patience,” BGE said.
Power restoration was part of a larger cleanup effort throughout the area, as floodwaters receded and temperatures forecast to be around 90 replaced the clouds, wind and rain of the storm.
On Facebook, a group called Canton Neighbors organized a cleanup of the Waterfront Park area.
“Many hands make light work,” Steph Sennott Gomez wrote in the organizing post.
Debby brought tornado warnings and watches, along with up to 6.95 inches of rain to parts of Maryland, as the remnants of the storm that made landfall in the Carolinas moved across the state.
Flooding in low-lying parts of Annapolis peaked at 4.54 feet early Friday morning, marking the eighth-worst flood in the city’s history. In Baltimore, some residents were left to wonder where their cars went. The city’s Department of Transportation towed vehicles out of flooded areas. Residents can call 311 to find where the cars have been moved.
Roughly 7 inches of water flooded the Annapolis Maritime Museum & Park on Friday, an employee said. The museum remained closed Saturday to allow the floors to be dried with huge fans. Located in a former oyster packing house in the Eastport neighborhood, the museum is expected to reopen Sunday for normal visiting hours.
Storm Brothers Ice Cream Factory in Annapolis, which has experienced several flooding events this year, including an early-January flood that kept the shop closed for nearly two months, was back to business as usual Saturday.
“Everything is good here,” said Collin Snead, manager of Storm Brothers. “We lucked out a lot better than other businesses.”
Around noon Saturday, Snead said, a lot of businesses were starting to reopen as Dock Street was buzzing with people.
Sveinn Storm, who’s been selling ice cream at Storm Brothers for 48 years, said Friday he plugged his toilets, blocked the drains in the floors and put in door dams to prepare for Debby.
The Maryland Department of Natural Resources warned boaters via X early Saturday morning about the potential of debris in the Chesapeake Bay from Debby’s heavy winds and rain.
“Stay alert if you are planning on boating. Debris such as logs and other items can cause significant damage to boats if struck. Submerged debris can be nearly impossible to spot and can create a hazardous situation in an instant,” the department wrote.
Floodwaters blocked some streets in and near downtown Baltimore and pushed water from the Inner Harbor past the sidewalk between the National Aquarium and Baltimore’s World Trade Center. Many of the walkways around the Inner Harbor were blocked off Friday as water made parts of the area unwalkable.
The storm dropped 3 to 5 inches of rain on Howard County, flooding streets.
Despite numerous tornado watches and warnings, the National Weather Service did not report any twisters touching down in the area. Two tornadoes associated with the storm were reported — one in West Virginia and one in Virginia.
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