By Christina Hershey
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer
Despite the persistent urgency from the National Hurricane Center and other weather forecasters, many people in the Baltimore area who were interviewed this week were unconcerned that Hurricane Florence could potentially impact them.
“I think the news has a way of just wanting to drum up fear and scare cities, so I don’t really pay much attention to it,” said Talal Pharon, a Timonium resident. “I’m flying out to Seattle on Saturday so I’m not really too concerned about it.”
Sue Culp of Baltimore County said she had been closely monitoring the development of Florence earlier in the week but has since felt assured that this one is going to stay to the south of Maryland.
Culp said she was prepared with enough food and bottled water had the storm hit Baltimore.
Vicken Alboyadjian, a manager at The Bonefish Grill at 127 East Joppa Road in Towson, said she was treating the storm with a business-as-usual mindset.
“It’s not supposed to hit us, but if we were running the business and it lost power we would close it down at that point,” Alboyadjian said. “We would get all the transactions done. Once you lose power you can’t run a restaurant.”
Meanwhile, Gov. Larry Hogan has authorized deployment of the Maryland Helicopter Aquatic Rescue Team to North Carolina to help in the rescue efforts there. Hogan also said in a statement that Maryland will open two shelters for those who need a safe place to stay during the storm, including residents who may travel here from areas directly impacted by Florence.
Residents in and around Ellicott City were more apprehensive about the storm given the town’s flood-prone geography. Many of the businesses that once lined Main Street are now boarded up, being torn down, or struggling to rebuild. The construction workers seemed to be racing the clock, anxious for how the weather may unfold.
“It sucks because all the businesses there were so great,” said Michael Romeo, a resident of Catonsville. “I remember the day before the last flood. I went to the record store on Main Street and traded in several records.”
The few businesses that are left on Main Street appeared lively and busy last week, but with a subtle air of anticipation.
Several business owners who were approached for an interview said they did not want to comment about the coming storm because they did not want to take anything for granted.
Rich McCormick of the Ghost Town Tattoo shop simply smirked and pointed to his little marble plaque that read, “I really don’t care.”
McCormick gets by with a good sense of humor but admitted that he was stressed for the town, not necessarily for his shop.
“We never know how much we’re going to get,” he said, referring to the rain. McCormick said that local businesses keep each other updated on the status of the river whenever it rains.
“We’ll see what happens, but so far so good,” McCormick said, knocking his knuckles on a wood surface.
Les Owen of Bouie was showing some friends from Helena, Montana, around Ellicott City Thursday afternoon. Mary Ellen and Mark Earnhardt had visited Ellicott City after the last flood in 2016 after everything had been rebuilt. Now they are back after the most recent devastation back in May of this year.
“The people in this city, in this community, were so friendly and you just felt right at home and you felt like you were part of the community,” Ellen said. “To think there might be another flood, I just can’t help but think about the wonderful people that are here and their losses, and their lives. It’s changing their lives.”
“These people were never out to sell you something, they were just proud,” Ellen continued.
“And still are, I might add,” Owen interrupted.
Watchdog Staff Writer Jacob Stolzenbach contributed to this report.