Two months after devastating floods in Western Maryland, towns like Westernport are rebuilding, but many residents still face severe damage, financial hardship and lingering trauma.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":235,"featured_media":11443743,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"apple_news_api_created_at":"2025-07-12T13:01:33Z","apple_news_api_id":"f1acd7d2-ebb7-4f6a-b0e8-7443305df279","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2025-07-12T13:01:33Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAD\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/w==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/A8azX0uu3T2qw6HRDMF3yeQ","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"middle","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"subheadline":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[83,84,85,95],"tags":[25302],"feature":[],"location":[25087,223],"type-of-work":[],"coauthors":[25623],"class_list":["post-11555220","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-headlines","category-local-news","category-news","category-weather","tag-fox45-news","location-allegany-county","location-maryland"],"post_status":"","edit_last":0,"edit_lock":0,"highlights":"","original_byline":"","original_canonical":"","original_category":"","original_email":"","original_id":0,"original_pubdate":"","original_source":"","primary_section":"84","primary_tag":0,"print_workflow_body":{"deck_headline":"","print_title":"Western Maryland still recovering two months after devastating floods","print_subheadline":"","print_priority":"","print_placement":"cover","print_planned_ready":"","print_pub_date":"1752379200","print_slug":"TBS-L-WJLAWESTMDFLOODS-0712","print_budget_line":"","print_excerpt":"Two months after devastating floods in Western Maryland, towns like Westernport are rebuilding, but many residents still face severe damage, financial hardship and lingering trauma.","print_notes":"","photo_limits":"Photo limits are: 1 featured image, 5 featured gallery images, 5 embedded gallery images and 5 in-article embedded images. Articles that exceed these limits will not export. Please adjust images to reflect these limits.","print_featured_gallery_richtext":"","print_inline_galleries_richtext":"","print_inline_images_richtext":"","print_content":"
The May 13 Western Maryland flood was devastating for towns like Westernport when a stationary storm dumped nearly a foot of rain.<\/p>
In a flash, Georges Creek was over its banks. Water rose quickly on Main Street. It crashed into the Westernport library. Not far away, children were stranded in Westernport Elementary. One father carried his daughter to safety on his shoulders through waist-deep water.<\/p>
Now, two months later, Mayor Judy Hamilton said the town is beginning to heal.<\/p>
\u201cWe're going to recover fully, and we'll be back to where we were. We're all working hard to make sure that happens,\u201d Hamilton said.<\/p>
Georges Creek is well below its banks, and along Main Street, the town has worked hard to recover. The street is lined with flags, and businesses are beginning to reopen.<\/p>
But off of Main Street, it's a different story. People are still suffering.<\/p>
We met 86-year-old David Steiding. He led us into his home of 60 years. The water here was five feet deep. He points out the damage.<\/p>
\u201c[I] had to take all this drywall off. Mold got in behind the drywall. I got to replace that door,\u201d Steiding explained.<\/p>
He walked into another room.<\/p>
\u201cYou can see here this was the bathroom. They had to take the walls out. The floor was tore out,\u201d he said.<\/p>
He can\u2019t afford the repairs himself. He didn\u2019t have flood insurance. He\u2019s hoping for assistance, but the federal government hasn\u2019t approved a disaster declaration, and he said there\u2019s been no help from FEMA.<\/p>
\u201cThe bad thing about it,\u2019 said Steinding, \u201cMy wife died a month before and now I have to do this.\u201d<\/p>
Just then, Steiding\u2019s son, also David, arrived.<\/p>
\u201cI mean, we're still recovering,\" he said. \"It's bad. It came in fast and hard, and he barely got out of the house.\u201d<\/p>
People in Westernport and several other Western Maryland towns hit by the flood say they now watch the news from the\u00a0deadly Texas floods with empathy.<\/p>
They know what it\u2019s like to face a wall of water. It\u2019s something they don\u2019t want to experience ever again.<\/p>
\u201cI have citizens telling me, \u2018I\u2019m having panic attacks,\u2019 when we\u2019ve had a couple warnings for possible flash flooding because of heavy rain,\u201d Mayor Hamilton said.<\/p>
The visible wounds in town are beginning to heal, said the mayor, but scars remain.<\/p>
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/TBS-L-MARYLANDFLOODING.jpg\")
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