Floodwater in Annapolis crept up around noon Thursday in Annapolis, closing multiple downtown businesses and city streets as the city prepares for the first phase of the City Dock Resiliency Project.
The city was to remain under a coastal flood warning through 8 a.m. Friday.
There was a high tide around noon Thursday that rose to 4.27 feet above the average lowest daily tide, according to unofficial numbers from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The high tide Thursday appears to have approached a recent high for water levels in Annapolis. The 10th-highest water level in city history was 4.28 feet above the average lowest daily tide, putting Thursday as the possible 11th-highest water level. The flooding Thursday might be the fourth-highest water level in Annapolis in the past 10 years, according to NOAA historical data.
This was considered moderate flooding in Annapolis, whereas 5.0 feet and above would be considered a major flood. Flooding occurs whenever the waters rise to 2.6 feet above the average lowest daily tide.
The next high tide was predicted at 1 a.m. Friday.
At midday Thursday, businesses on Dock Street were closed, and at 1 p.m., an employee was seen deploying a business’s own pump system to get water out. Annapolis Mayor Gavin Buckley kayaked through what is normally a parking lot on Dock Street through to Ego Alley, telling the Capital Gazette he was going out to assess the damage at the downtown businesses.
At least three cars were still in the flooded parking lot, with water covering most of one truck’s tires.
The Annapolis Office of Emergency Management announced Thursday morning that Dock Street, Compromise Street between the Memorial Circle and St. Mary’s Street, the inbound direction of 6th Street to Compromise Street, and Chester Avenue at Fourth Street were closed due to the floods.
The office stressed that drivers should not go around barricades or through floodwaters because they could get stuck. As of 4 p.m. Thursday, there had not been any water rescues, according to David Mandell, the deputy director of the city Office of Emergency Management.
The Thursday flooding was caused by a combination of strong wind coming from the east and south, tide and rain, Mandell said. He said the department distributed 50 sandbags Wednesday to prepare for the flooding.
In 2024, Annapolis had 120 flooding events, the most in city history, and two state of emergency declarations due to flooding, Mandell said. There have been fewer flooding events this year, he said, but any flooding can affect businesses, vehicles and downtown generally.
The city is expected to hold a groundbreaking within the next few days for the City Dock Resiliency Project, which aims to better protect City Dock and the other side of Ego Alley from rising sea levels. The two-year project is set to put in taller bulkheads, add deployable flood barriers, raise the sidewalk and install a raised park. The project is also slated to add a new Maritime Welcome Center to City Dock.
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