As the nation marks 50 years since the remnants of Hurricane Agnes ripped across Maryland, WBAL-TV’s Tommie Clark stopped by the Conowingo Dam to interview me about the destructive storm’s impact on Maryland.
The Weather Service downgraded the hurricane to a tropical storm by the time it hit Maryland on June 21, 1972. But Agnes stalled over Pennsylvania and New York, causing the worst flooding on record for the Susquehanna Valley of Pennsylvania and northeastern Maryland.
As a record rainfall soaked the river basin between June 21 and 24, the flood-swollen waterway spread over a wide area. Once all the gates on the Conowingo Dam opened Port Deposit’s Main Street filled with rushing water. Earlier, officials ordered a mandatory evacuation — only one small part of a block in the center of town remained dry as rescue boats floated down Main Street.
Havre de Grace, Port Deposit, Perryville, and other places suffered enormous destruction. Those who lived through this record-breaking storm will never forget the destructive force that disrupted lives. So as we mark the passage of a half-century, 11 news Baltimore, took a look back at the damage and the progress made in weather forecasting in “Hurricane Agnes: 50 Years Later.”
I talked to WBAL about those destructive days, discussing the impact of Agnes and how people nearly two generations later remember it in northeastern Maryland. Having taken 21 lives in Maryland, it remains the deadliest named storm in state history.
For More on Hurricane Agnes See
The full 30-minute broadcast on WBAL-TV.
Tropical Storm Agnes Won’t be forgotten in Cecil County
