CRISFIELD, Md. -- Many of our coastal communities have been dealing with serious flooding for days. Neighbors in Crisfield walked out of their homes on Monday to their yards and streets submerged in salt water.
Flooding is not a new or uncommon issue for Crisfield, however, this time around is different. Usually floods happen after a serious storm, but in this case high tides are the guilty culprit.
Blake Blades drove us around his hometown for half an hour on Monday, maneuvering his pick-up truck through streets where flooding was at its worst.
If you've ever been on the back of a boat and looked out at the waves formed as the vessel carves through open water, then the view from Blades' truck bed would be a familiar sight.
His truck was more than capable of handling the task at hand, albeit a less-than-ideal one.
"It takes a toll on your vehicle you know riding through the salt water, if you don't wash her off it's rust happening," said Blades. "But you get used to it, but I mean what are they going to do about it? They've been taking about fixing the draining for how long? And they've never fixed the draining problem."
The view didn't get much better on foot. The reflection of homes on Cove Street could be seen on the water-covered roads and a good pair of boots became more important than ever as neighbors trudged their way through the swamp-like landscape.
"This is on the sidewalk, look that's probably a foot deep right there," said Michael Boone, standing on the flooded Somerset Avenue sidewalk.
Somerset County Public Schools, not willing to put their buses out on the roads canceled classes on Monday. SCPS wasn't sure if schools would reopen on Tuesday, but for up-to-date information you can always check out WBOC's closings page.
No classes meant Blades, who's a senior at Crisfield High, had a free Monday to drive around. But it also gave Boone quite the scare for the crawl space of his home on Somerset Avenue.
"Once we opened the door it's still dry under there, but I don't know for how long," said Boone. "With this much water coming up it's got to be coming up underneath there pretty soon."
Somerset Emergency Services told us people can expect moderate flooding on Monday and Tuesday nights. They should also prepare for minor flooding on Wednesday night.
Water levels are expected to dip back down starting Thursday.
