Fifty years later, Hurricane Agnes remains the greatest flood in the Mid-Atlantic, both in coverage and magnitude.Agnes killed more than 100 people, becoming one of the worst disasters in U.S. history. It caused more than $3 billion worth of damage across 12 states, which today would equal around $21 billion. Adjusted for inflation, it’s still one of the costliest storms in the nation’s history.Between Virginia, Maryland, Washington, D.C., and West Virginia, 305 homes were destroyed and more than 11,000 homes sustained damage.Five decades later, 11 News looks back at the damage and the progress made — from weather forecasting technology to flood mitigation steps.’It was extraordinary’: Agnes remains fresh in people’s memoriesNewspaper headlines read: “Flood! Four days to remember.” And 50 years later, people still recall it fresh in their minds.”It was extraordinary,” said Philip Cunio. “It made you realize how quickly and how violently nature can take over.”Meteorologist Ava Marie explained that Agnes may have been a hurricane at landfall, but it was the weakening leftover low-pressure system that caused most of the destruction. For a week after landfall in Florida, the remnants of Agnes unleashed torrential rains as it moved north and then merged with another area of low pressure.A widespread 6 to 12 inches of rain fell across the Mid-Atlantic on top of what was already an unusually wet spring. In numerous states, many of the flood records set by Agnes still stand to this day.Agnes flooded out towns along the Patapsco River. Among the hardest-hit towns was Ellicott City, and for those who lived through it, the memories remain fresh in their minds.The rain from Hurricane Agnes began falling the night of June 21, 1972, and into the early morning of June 22, 1972.Ellicott City residents remember AgnesRon Peters’ grandfather owned a number of buildings on Main Street, which he helped manage and maintain as a teen.”First thing I remember was my dad waking me and my brother up, saying, ‘Come on, we have to go’ … My brother (and) his girlfriend lived on Main Street in Ellicott City. ‘They’re taking them out in boats,'” Peters said.Peters and former Ellicott City business owner Ed Lilley recently met 11 News at the Howard County Museum, which highlights Agnes in this emotional exhibit, including a marker of 14.5 feet — the height the water reached downtown.”Being 17, (I) probably (thought), ‘Wow, this is crazy.’ You see electric poles sparking and cars floating and the smell, you never forget the smell of the flood with the trees and the debris floating down the river,” Peters said.Peters documented the storm in a scrapbook.”I think just the shock was you just couldn’t believe it, the amazing depth of the water and the damage that was done,” Lilley said.Both men told 11 News that the pictures really don’t do the storm justice — the fight and fear that existed overnight, translating to disbelief the following morning.Video below: How weather forecasting, technology has improved since 1972″You’re just in awe of Mother Nature. Of course, it’s just amazing to see the depth of that water almost up to old Columbia Pike off of Main Street,” Lilley said.Retired Howard County Fire and Rescue Battalion Chief Donald Howell was a brand-new firefighter first class when Agnes hit.”While huddled in the front of the rescue boat, a woman told one of the firemen how frightened she was only to have the fireman answer that he was scared, too, since this was his first boat rescue,” Howell said. “We knew it was going to rain, it was going to rain hard, but that’s all we thought.”| NOAA LINK: 50th Anniversary of Hurricane AgnesHowell witnessed the recovery of three bodies in Ellicott City and one in Columbia. He said what was most frustrating was that no one in the region had the proper equipment for swift-water rescue — just these bass boats, which were no match for the rapid water.”It’s just a wonder that we did not lose our own personnel. They took some risks that they really shouldn’t have, but they also saved many lives,” Howell said.Howell’s fire station, which is now a wine store, served as the town shelter. He remembers people calling it a once-in-a-lifetime flood.”It was amazing, just the amount of energy, the volume of water and the destruction, and sadly, the loss of lives,” Howell said.How devastation from Agnes differs from recent floodingChris Strong, a warning coordination meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Baltimore-Washington forecast office, explained that Agnes was unfortunately not a once-in-a-lifetime flood. In fact, since 1972, there have been five so-called lifetime floods, two of which were back-to-back in 2016 and 2018.”(They) lived through a night of terror and then a soggy dawn that revealed the total destruction of their homes. Most often, it’s the rainfall threat that’s the biggest threat to public safety and damage as well,” Strong said.However, it’s important to point out that the most recent floods were different.Strong explained the difference between Agnes and the recent floods, saying: “The rain got heavier in amount the further north and west of Baltimore, and all that rain that fell in extreme north-central Maryland collects in the Patapsco basin, and it comes down the Patapsco River and floods Ellicott City from the bottom up, instead of 2016 and 2018, where was the rainfall torrent coming down Main Street from the top down.”Agnes destroyed a number of smaller towns along the Patapsco River, smashing all previous flood records by dumping more than 12 inches of rain on the region. That led to more than 700 people losing their homes.Towns down river from dam had to be evacuatedAgnes also battered towns along the Susquehanna River, causing water to rise so high, it reached the top of the state’s largest dam. Most of Port Deposit had to be evacuated after all 53 of the Conowingo Dam’s flood gates — overcapacity at the mouth of the river — were opened, essentially becoming a spillway. Every option was exhausted.Video below: Hurricane left river towns under water”That’s only happened a few times in history. Now, when that happens, that means this uniquely situated valley that’s at the mouth of the Susquehanna is in deep, deep trouble,” historian Mike Dixon said.Most of nearby Havre de Grace was evacuated as well, including newborns from the hospital because of the fear that the dam might fail. And, the lighthouse that once stood up to dangerous waters saw the waterfront overflow.Today, the Conowingo Dam is a hot spot to fish and bird-watch. But turn back time to June 1972, and all of it was underwater.”(The) dam was flooded. Water was coming over the top into the roadbed, spilling over the backside,” said Chuck Astheimer.Now almost 72, Astheimer remembers watching it all happen.”(I was) just shocked to see it that high and that fast going down. Everything downriver was flooded. Port Deposit, Perryville, Havre de Grace, they were all under water. Up north was all under water. It was terrible,” Astheimer said.Dixon said it’s when Agnes settled over the river basin that towns here were in hot water.”It truly was an enormously devastating flood to the entire Susquehanna Valley,” Dixon said. “This river goes 3, 400 miles up into Pennsylvania and New York, and throughout it, people were facing a disaster like they could have never imagined.”Philip and Sharon Cunio were in their 20s at the time.”I remember we were driving home because they warned us to evacuate,” Philip Cunio said. “We were driving home, and the little town that we went through, it had a stream that went through it. It turned into a raging torrent, turned the town completely in half. You couldn’t get from one side to the other.”Dolores Andrews recalled being with a babysitter when electricity went out and a nearby creek started to swell.”I remember my brothers and sisters, we all kind of huddled in the house, thinking the house was going to wash away because it was a lot of rain and a lot of force coming out of that creek,” Andrews said. “Never underestimate the power of water.”Relief groups arrived to help clean up storm debris. Dixon said it took years to recover from the hurricane that affected a generation.”Finally, that storm, it left, but it left a mess when it left. I mean, everything was underwater, full of mud. It was terrible,” Astheimer said. “It was just phenomenal. I’d never seen rivers flow like that, and I’ve been here a long time. I started when I was a kid in 1958. They’ve had storms, but nothing like Agnes. Nothing like that.”Some good did come out of the stormUltimately, some good did come out of the storm. In order to preserve buildings that were gutted by Agnes, Historic Ellicott City was formed and rescue companies are now trained in and have the proper equipment for swift-water rescues.Much has improved since 1972 in terms of flood mitigation, forecasting and communication. Cellphones now serve as lifesaving devices with flood alerts based on cell signals, no matter where or when.And, technology for weather forecasting has changed significantly over the last 50 years. The loss of life seen from Agnes would likely not happen again because meteorologists now have the ability to know when a severe storm is coming several days in advance.Video below: Agnes was an outlier for storms in 1972
Fifty years later, Hurricane Agnes remains the greatest flood in the Mid-Atlantic, both in coverage and magnitude.
Agnes killed more than 100 people, becoming one of the worst disasters in U.S. history. It caused more than $3 billion worth of damage across 12 states, which today would equal around $21 billion. Adjusted for inflation, it’s still one of the costliest storms in the nation’s history.
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Between Virginia, Maryland, Washington, D.C., and West Virginia, 305 homes were destroyed and more than 11,000 homes sustained damage.
Five decades later, 11 News looks back at the damage and the progress made — from weather forecasting technology to flood mitigation steps.
‘It was extraordinary’: Agnes remains fresh in people’s memories
Newspaper headlines read: “Flood! Four days to remember.” And 50 years later, people still recall it fresh in their minds.
“It was extraordinary,” said Philip Cunio. “It made you realize how quickly and how violently nature can take over.”
Meteorologist Ava Marie explained that Agnes may have been a hurricane at landfall, but it was the weakening leftover low-pressure system that caused most of the destruction. For a week after landfall in Florida, the remnants of Agnes unleashed torrential rains as it moved north and then merged with another area of low pressure.
A widespread 6 to 12 inches of rain fell across the Mid-Atlantic on top of what was already an unusually wet spring. In numerous states, many of the flood records set by Agnes still stand to this day.
Agnes flooded out towns along the Patapsco River. Among the hardest-hit towns was Ellicott City, and for those who lived through it, the memories remain fresh in their minds.
The rain from Hurricane Agnes began falling the night of June 21, 1972, and into the early morning of June 22, 1972.
This content is imported from Twitter. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.
Ellicott City residents remember Agnes
Ron Peters’ grandfather owned a number of buildings on Main Street, which he helped manage and maintain as a teen.
“First thing I remember was my dad waking me and my brother up, saying, ‘Come on, we have to go’ … My brother (and) his girlfriend lived on Main Street in Ellicott City. ‘They’re taking them out in boats,'” Peters said.
Peters and former Ellicott City business owner Ed Lilley recently met 11 News at the Howard County Museum, which highlights Agnes in this emotional exhibit, including a marker of 14.5 feet — the height the water reached downtown.
“Being 17, (I) probably (thought), ‘Wow, this is crazy.’ You see electric poles sparking and cars floating and the smell, you never forget the smell of the flood with the trees and the debris floating down the river,” Peters said.
Peters documented the storm in a scrapbook.
“I think just the shock was you just couldn’t believe it, the amazing depth of the water and the damage that was done,” Lilley said.
Both men told 11 News that the pictures really don’t do the storm justice — the fight and fear that existed overnight, translating to disbelief the following morning.
Video below: How weather forecasting, technology has improved since 1972
“You’re just in awe of Mother Nature. Of course, it’s just amazing to see the depth of that water almost up to old Columbia Pike off of Main Street,” Lilley said.
Retired Howard County Fire and Rescue Battalion Chief Donald Howell was a brand-new firefighter first class when Agnes hit.
“While huddled in the front of the rescue boat, a woman told one of the firemen how frightened she was only to have the fireman answer that he was scared, too, since this was his first boat rescue,” Howell said. “We knew it was going to rain, it was going to rain hard, but that’s all we thought.”
| NOAA LINK: 50th Anniversary of Hurricane Agnes
Howell witnessed the recovery of three bodies in Ellicott City and one in Columbia. He said what was most frustrating was that no one in the region had the proper equipment for swift-water rescue — just these bass boats, which were no match for the rapid water.
“It’s just a wonder that we did not lose our own personnel. They took some risks that they really shouldn’t have, but they also saved many lives,” Howell said.
Howell’s fire station, which is now a wine store, served as the town shelter. He remembers people calling it a once-in-a-lifetime flood.
“It was amazing, just the amount of energy, the volume of water and the destruction, and sadly, the loss of lives,” Howell said.
How devastation from Agnes differs from recent flooding
Chris Strong, a warning coordination meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Baltimore-Washington forecast office, explained that Agnes was unfortunately not a once-in-a-lifetime flood. In fact, since 1972, there have been five so-called lifetime floods, two of which were back-to-back in 2016 and 2018.
This content is imported from Twitter. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.
“(They) lived through a night of terror and then a soggy dawn that revealed the total destruction of their homes. Most often, it’s the rainfall threat that’s the biggest threat to public safety and damage as well,” Strong said.
However, it’s important to point out that the most recent floods were different.
Strong explained the difference between Agnes and the recent floods, saying: “The rain got heavier in amount the further north and west of Baltimore, and all that rain that fell in extreme north-central Maryland collects in the Patapsco basin, and it comes down the Patapsco River and floods Ellicott City from the bottom up, instead of 2016 and 2018, where was the rainfall torrent coming down Main Street from the top down.”
Agnes destroyed a number of smaller towns along the Patapsco River, smashing all previous flood records by dumping more than 12 inches of rain on the region. That led to more than 700 people losing their homes.
Towns down river from dam had to be evacuated
Agnes also battered towns along the Susquehanna River, causing water to rise so high, it reached the top of the state’s largest dam. Most of Port Deposit had to be evacuated after all 53 of the Conowingo Dam’s flood gates — overcapacity at the mouth of the river — were opened, essentially becoming a spillway. Every option was exhausted.
Video below: Hurricane left river towns under water
“That’s only happened a few times in history. Now, when that happens, that means this uniquely situated valley that’s at the mouth of the Susquehanna is in deep, deep trouble,” historian Mike Dixon said.
Most of nearby Havre de Grace was evacuated as well, including newborns from the hospital because of the fear that the dam might fail. And, the lighthouse that once stood up to dangerous waters saw the waterfront overflow.
Today, the Conowingo Dam is a hot spot to fish and bird-watch. But turn back time to June 1972, and all of it was underwater.
“(The) dam was flooded. Water was coming over the top into the roadbed, spilling over the backside,” said Chuck Astheimer.
Now almost 72, Astheimer remembers watching it all happen.
“(I was) just shocked to see it that high and that fast going down. Everything downriver was flooded. Port Deposit, Perryville, Havre de Grace, they were all under water. Up north was all under water. It was terrible,” Astheimer said.
Dixon said it’s when Agnes settled over the river basin that towns here were in hot water.
“It truly was an enormously devastating flood to the entire Susquehanna Valley,” Dixon said. “This river goes 3, 400 miles up into Pennsylvania and New York, and throughout it, people were facing a disaster like they could have never imagined.”
Philip and Sharon Cunio were in their 20s at the time.
“I remember we were driving home because they warned us to evacuate,” Philip Cunio said. “We were driving home, and the little town that we went through, it had a stream that went through it. It turned into a raging torrent, turned the town completely in half. You couldn’t get from one side to the other.”
Dolores Andrews recalled being with a babysitter when electricity went out and a nearby creek started to swell.
“I remember my brothers and sisters, we all kind of huddled in the house, thinking the house was going to wash away because it was a lot of rain and a lot of force coming out of that creek,” Andrews said. “Never underestimate the power of water.”
Relief groups arrived to help clean up storm debris. Dixon said it took years to recover from the hurricane that affected a generation.
“Finally, that storm, it left, but it left a mess when it left. I mean, everything was underwater, full of mud. It was terrible,” Astheimer said. “It was just phenomenal. I’d never seen rivers flow like that, and I’ve been here a long time. I started when I was a kid in 1958. They’ve had storms, but nothing like Agnes. Nothing like that.”
Some good did come out of the storm
Ultimately, some good did come out of the storm. In order to preserve buildings that were gutted by Agnes, Historic Ellicott City was formed and rescue companies are now trained in and have the proper equipment for swift-water rescues.
Much has improved since 1972 in terms of flood mitigation, forecasting and communication. Cellphones now serve as lifesaving devices with flood alerts based on cell signals, no matter where or when.
And, technology for weather forecasting has changed significantly over the last 50 years. The loss of life seen from Agnes would likely not happen again because meteorologists now have the ability to know when a severe storm is coming several days in advance.
Video below: Agnes was an outlier for storms in 1972