Svienn Storm, the owner of Storm Bros. Ice Cream Factory on Dock Street, was in Iowa visiting family when he learned he had lost everything to the coastal flooding that swept into Annapolis Tuesday afternoon.
The ice cream shop lost power, which prevented the pumps Storm had installed from working. More water leaked in from neighboring businesses.
“In [Hurricane] Isabel, we ended up with 49 inches of water in the store. This time we ended up with 32, but it had the same consequence,” Storm said in an interview Wednesday. “It hits the freezers, it hits the compressors. You unplug them, but everything has computer circuits.”
The floodwaters from Tuesday’s storm surpassed those of October 2021, making this the third biggest flooding event in the city’s history, according to Kevin Simmons, director of the Office of Emergency Management. In October 2021, flooding reached 4.9 feet above normal water levels. On Tuesday, the waters reached 5.1 feet above normal levels.
“This flood is a historic flood,” Simmons said.
The worst storm to ever hit Annapolis was Hurricane Isabel in September 2003. Flood waters reached 5.76 feet above normal levels causing catastrophic damage throughout the city.
In the 48 years that Storm Bros. has been selling ice cream in the downtown area, Storm has had to rebuild his business at least four times after flooding. He’s expecting to be back in business in about a month and said he plans to invest in a larger pump and a gas generator.
“We’ll make a comeback,” Storm said. ” I don’t know how fast this will be because I want to make sure that that we take care of the walls where the water leaked in. We’re just going to make sure that we get everything done to the utmost so that we can prevent this from happening again.”
Other business owners like Ryan Lamy, owner of Pip’s Dock Street Dogs, were lucky to experience minimal damage but are still closed as they await inspections by the city and county health departments. About 2 feet of water was in the front of the store and about a foot in the back., Lamy said.
“It’s just going to be a big cleanup process,” he said. “We lost minimal food [and] the freezers held up. So, that was good.”
Lamy expressed frustration about being closed for business for the next couple of weeks.
“What’s really irritating me right now is the fact that that we basically had a mini natural disaster down here,” he said. ” I’m not gonna be able to open for a week maybe longer depending on if these inspections go OK. I can’t afford that. There’s no way I can recoup that loss of business. I have no idea what’s going to happen.”
Other businesses such as Blanca Flor Silver Jewelry were not flooded and sustained no damage from the storm, according to Janet Tucker, who has been working at Blanca Flor for 14 years.
The city has not yet determined the full extent of the damage, Simmons said.
By Wednesday afternoon, the Office of Emergency Management was able to open all roads that had been closed due to flooding,, according to Simmons.
Most of Maryland was slammed by rain and strong winds Tuesday afternoon and evening, resulting in flooded streets and downed trees, and prompting school closures on Wednesday.
Anne Arundel Public Schools were closed due to the storm. After-school activities were also canceled, including athletics and all-county band auditions. City buildings remained open.
At 6am Wednesday, flood water reaching Main Street is still receding after 3am high tide in Annapolis. (Jeffrey F. Bill/Staff photo)
At 6am Wednesday, flood water reaching Main Street and Compromise Street is still receding after 3am high tide in Annapolis. (Jeffrey F. Bill/Staff photo)
See AlsoParts of Maryland flood from Debby's heavy rainfallAnnapolis downtown floods as high water expected to last the weekendBusinesses in Annapolis prepare for potential flooding from Tropical Storm DebbyAnnapolis deploys flood barriers around City Dock as storm arrives with high winds, coastal floodingA cyclist rides down the sidewalk on Main Street to avoid flood water in front of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty. At 6am Wednesday, flood water reaching Main Street is still receding after 3am high tide in Annapolis. (Jeffrey F. Bill/Staff photo)
A cyclist rides down the sidewalk on Main Street to Compromise Street to avoid flood water. At 6am Wednesday, flood water reaching Main Street is still receding after 3am high tide in Annapolis. (Jeffrey F. Bill/Staff photo)
A man is seen walking through the flood water on Main Street in front of Market House. At 6am Wednesday, flood water reaching Main Street is still receding after 3am high tide in Annapolis. (Jeffrey F. Bill/Staff photo)
Flood water can be seen reaching Main Street in front of the Annapolis Market House. At 6am Wednesday, flood water reaching Main Street is still receding after 3am high tide in Annapolis. (Jeffrey F. Bill/Staff photo)
Looking towards Compromise Street in front of the sand-bagged Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty o Main Steet. At 6am Wednesday, flood water reaching Main Street is still receding after 3am high tide in Annapolis. (Jeffrey F. Bill/Staff photo)
Flood waters reached across Compromise Street, flooding the Guardians of the First Amendment Memorial Park. At 6am Wednesday, flood water reaching Main Street is still receding after 3am high tide in Annapolis. (Jeffrey F. Bill/Staff photo)
Looking towards Ego Alley from Mainstreet. At 6am Wednesday, flood water reaching Main Street is still receding after 3am high tide in Annapolis. (Jeffrey F. Bill/Staff photo)
Major flooding is seen on Dock Street. At 6am Wednesday, flood water reaching Main Street is still receding after 3am high tide in Annapolis. (Jeffrey F. Bill/Staff photo)
Major flooding is seen on Dock Street. At 6am Wednesday, flood water reaching Main Street is still receding after 3am high tide in Annapolis. (Jeffrey F. Bill/Staff photo)
The deployed new flood prevention technology, looked to be overwhelmed as flood waters reached across Compromise Street. The accordion-style, tent-like barrier was laid down at Newman Street between Fleet Reserve Club and the parking lot. The barrier fills up with water, preventing flooding from going farther. The technology comes from Delft University of Technology, Netherlands. At 6am Wednesday, flood water reaching Main Street is still receding after 3am high tide in Annapolis. (Jeffrey F. Bill/Staff photo)
A sand-bagged entrance to the Fleet Reserve Club can be seen holding back flood waters on Newman Street. At 6am Wednesday, flood water reaching Main Street is still receding after 3am high tide in Annapolis. (Jeffrey F. Bill/Staff photo)
Looking towards Ego Alley and Compromise Street from Mainstreet. At 6am Wednesday, flood water reaching Main Street is still receding after 3am high tide in Annapolis. (Jeffrey F. Bill/Staff photo)
Annapolis Police block Compromise Street at St. Mary's Street due to high flood waters. At 6am Wednesday, flood water reaching Main Street is still receding after 3am high tide in Annapolis. (Jeffrey F. Bill/Staff photo)
Caring Cupboard co-founder Chuck Yocum, center, speaks with Anna Baicar, left, and Kim Baicar, right, as they drop off donations. Caring Cupboard held a food drive in front of Bay Area Computers and Hobbies in Pasadena to collect food to be disturbed to Anne Arundel County families in need with children home from school due to Coronavirus closures. (Paul W. Gillespie/Staff photo)
Storm Bros. Ice Cream suffered major damage due to flood waters. (Paul W. Gillespie/Staff photo)
A sign on Bitty & Beau\xe2\x80\x99s Coffee says they are closed due to flooding. (Paul W. Gillespie/Staff photo)
Ryan Lamy, owner of Pip\xe2\x80\x99s Hot Dogs at City Dock in Annapolis cleans up after two feet of flood waters made it into his shop. He hopes to be open again in a day or two. (Paul W. Gillespie/Staff photo)
The City of Annapolis placed these signs on several Dock Street businesses. (Paul W. Gillespie/Staff photo)
Ryan Lamy, owner of Pip\xe2\x80\x99s Hot Dogs at City Dock in Annapolis cleans up after two feet of flood waters made it into his shop. He hopes to be open again in a day or two. (Paul W. Gillespie/Staff photo)
Ryan Lamy, owner of Pip\xe2\x80\x99s Hot Dogs at City Dock in Annapolis cleans up after two feet of flood waters made it into his shop. He hopes to be open again in a day or two. (Paul W. Gillespie/Staff photo)
The ducks seem to be the only ones who enjoy the high water at City Dock in Annapolis Wednesday afternoon. (Paul W. Gillespie/Staff photo)
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At 6am Wednesday, flood water reaching Main Street is still receding after 3am high tide in Annapolis. (Jeffrey F. Bill/Staff photo)
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Other parts of Anne Arundel County that saw moderate to major flooding included Pasadena, Arnold, Edgewater, Shady Side, Deale and Gibson Island.
About 17,000 Anne Arundel County residents lost power, according to the Baltimore Gas & Electric Co. outage map. That number was down to about 2,300 by Wednesday afternoon. About 20 homes in the city were still without power, the city said.
As the storm arrived Tuesday, Annapolis workers deployed new flood mitigation barriers at the end of Newman Street.
The tent-like, accordion-shaped barriers, which were acquired from a company in the Netherlands, can be laid down in front of floodwaters. The barriers fill up with water and prevent the spread of flooding. City spokesperson Mitchelle Stephenson said the new technology likely allowed Compromise Street, which floods regularly, to remain open for several hours.
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