Gov. Wes Moore declared a state of emergency Thursday evening as he toured parts of Western Maryland that saw historic flood damage this week.

Visiting a fire armory in Lonaconing in Allegany County, Moore vowed that support from state officials was “just beginning.”

“You have my word,” the Democrat told a crowd of elected officials and first responders, “because we’re going to rebuild and be back stronger than ever.”

He then surveyed damage on Main Street in Westernport, where local residents had spent the day clearing thick mud, pools of water and debris piles.

Even in a deep-red corner of the state, many said they were glad to see the Democratic governor come to town. Tim Dayton, chief of Potomac Fire Company No. 2, became emotional as Moore embraced him. His all-volunteer crew has dealt not only with evacuations and cleanups but flooding and damage to its own fire station.

Moore also toured the Westernport Library, where flood waters washed books off the shelves and left behind several inches of deep, boot-sucking mud.

“Keep us in your prayers,” Kathy Murphy, the library’s service leader, told Moore.

Parts of Allegany and Garrett counties experienced more than five inches of rain in a short period of time Tuesday.

Flood waters left Beechwood Street in Lonaconing cracked, caved in and coated in mud. About 8 miles south on Route 36, flooding in Westernport forced the evacuation of the elementary school by boat and left many buildings — from the town library to the fire station to homes and business — badly damaged.

The Tuesday rain swiftly overwhelmed Georges Creek, a narrow tributary that runs through the middle of Westernport and meets the Potomac River’s northern branch at the edge of town, driving the worst flooding the area has seen in nearly 30 years.

Between Tuesday morning and late afternoon that day, Georges Creek rose to triple its typical level, peaking inches shy of the record set during 1996 floods.

Officials from the emergency management department have been surveying the damage to roads, bridges and buildings in Westernport, which has fewer than 2,000 residents.

Jorge Castillo, chief communications officer for the Maryland Department of Emergency Management, said it’s too early to say how costly the damage is, but the state expects to have an estimate in around a week.

Only disasters that leave a certain level of damage qualify for Federal Emergency Management Agency support, Castillo said. In Allegany County, the threshold for FEMA activation is $321,460 in uninsured damages.

Moore’s declaration of a state of emergency allows him to take some measures, such as calling in support from the National Guard.

The move is also expected to unlock and streamline access to additional state and federal funds, which the George’s Creek communities say they’ll need to rebuild schools, roads and other services.

Despite President Donald Trump‘s sweeping cuts to the federal government — and his threats to abolish the Federal Emergency Management Agency — U.S. Rep. April McClain Delaney pledged to fight for federal funding for the affected communities.

“Will FEMA have the resources? They don’t have as many resources as they used to,” said McClain Delaney, who represents Montgomery County and Western Maryland.

Local officials expressed relief after learning of Moore’s declaration.

“That just warms my heart, believe me,” Westernport Mayor Judy Hamilton said.

Wearing jeans and rubber boots, Randy Matthews raked debris from his waterlogged yard in Lonaconing on Thursday. An excavator scooped large piles of tree limbs, asphalt and rocks and released them into the back of a dump truck.

Jerry Burdock Jr. was at work when torrential rains suddenly turned Beechwood Road into a rushing river. Stranded and without cell service, he couldn’t reach his 79-year-old bedridden mother. First responders eventually cut through a fence and evacuated her to a local hospital.

“She was terrified,” Burdock said. “She didn’t know, ‘Who’s going to get me? How are they going to get me out of here?’”

The basement of their home, which abuts a mountain stream called Koontz Run, filled with 7 feet of water, destroying a set of weights, a refrigerator, a pool table and several other belongings.

Meanwhile, the shrubs in their front yard remained intact.

“It’s kind of a little encouraging sign from above,” Burdock said.

State officials announced some steps Thursday to support residents as they get back on their feet.

Affected Allegany County businesses will get a tax break from the state, Comptroller Brooke Lierman said in a news release Thursday. The comptroller’s office said it will waive waive penalties and interest on all business tax payments due between May 10 and June 30.

“Our hope is that our actions will give business owners one fewer thing to worry about as they tend to their personal and their business needs and figure out the next steps for recovery,” Lierman said in a statement.

Officials with the Maryland Department of the Environment, meanwhile, have been conducting their own assessment of the fallout.

The drinking water plant Westernport was damaged, MDE spokesman Jay Apperson said, forcing a boil-water advisory and disruption of service there, while a pipe from the Lonaconing drinking water plant was also damaged.

Maryland environmental regulators have also tracked two dozen sewage overflows across Allegany, Garrett and Washington counties, where partially treated or untreated waste escaped.

The wastewater treatment plant in Westernport, operated by the Upper Potomac River Commission, also lost power and, overwhelmed by high flows, discharged partially treated sewage down the north branch of the Potomac.

Moore concluded his visit Tuesday by stopping at Westernport Elementary School, where a foot of muddy water left several teachers’ cars, a soccer goal and a basketball hoop partially submerged. He reiterated his pledge to use “every single asset that we have and every lever that we can pull from a local, from a state, from a federal perspective” to support recovery efforts.

Before departing, Moore placed his arm around Hamilton and said, “I want to make sure we stay in close touch.”

The Westernport mayor replied: “From the bottom of my heart, thank you so much.”

Banner reporters Jerry Jackson and Pamela Wood contributed to this article.