Street Flooding, Some Outages Remain in Sandy's Wake

Robert Nevrly ventured out of his Wilson Point Road home Tuesday morning clad in a gray sweatshirt and toting a camera while walking with his labrador Boris.

"It's a good morning," Nevrly said.

Just hours after the worst of the remnants of Hurricane Sandy came through, all things considered, Nevrly said he was doing OK at high tide Tuesday morning, which came at 8:10 a.m. at Bowley Bar in Middle River.

Tides were far higher than usual; the water lapped at the porch of the home Nevrly shares with partner Ernie Ritchie.

"It's been a long time since that happened," Nevrly said. During a storm last spring, it got up to the porch; after Tropical Storm Isabel in 2003, the water got a foot up the back steps. As high tide came in Tuesday, the water nearly reached a birdhouse perched atop their now-inundated pier.

"I was watching the bottom (of the birdhouse)," Ritchey said. "That's how I knew what the level was."

Many residents at the end of Wilson Point woke up to flooding. Some woke up to sirens. Police and fire crews came early Tuesday morning to alert residents and a few left voluntarily, neighbors said. Several homes at the end of Wilson Point Road were completely surrounded by water.

Baltimore county officials said Tuesday morning that eastern neighborhoods experienced a one- to three-foot storm surge. There were no reports of rescues or evacuations.

Residents on Wilson Point did not lose power, Nevrly said.

"We lucked out," Wilson Point Road Nancy Lanzi said, adding cautiously that "We're all worried about the high tide ... so not everybody's ready to move their stuff back yet."

Husband Frank was dealing with about a foot and a half of water blocking a front door to their basement, but all things considered, what's a little water?

"If the storm came a little bit stronger, we would have been in trouble," Frank Lanzi said. "We're lucky to have some good neighbors."

Valerie McDonough, wife of state Del. Pat McDonough, was out and about in Wilson Point—as was her husband in other parts of the area—checking in on residents and seeing if they needed help, including with insurance issues. After Tropical Storm Isabel, she said, the Maryland Insurance Administration had to intervene to make sure residents got the proper insurance payments.

"If we have people that have problems now, we want to make sure that we can help them," she said.

As of 10:21 a.m., 50,000 Baltimore Gas and Electric customers in Baltimore County remain out of power, according to the utility. Many are in central Baltimore County.

Several roads were flooded Tuesday morning, particularly in Bowleys Quarters. Check Baltimore County's list for details.

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