Alex Garza was pan-roasting halibut and plating shrimp when the rain began. Nearly 6 inches fell in two hours, creating a furious brown river that took two lives and destroyed Ellicott City’s historic downtown. When cars began floating past Tersiguel’s French Country Restaurant, Garza and the other cooks stopped working to make sure the gas was off and customers were safe.
The July 30 flood shuttered Tersiguel’s and about 90 other businesses, putting more than 450 people out of work. When the water receded, Garza walked home carrying his 9-inch culinary-grade knife and wondering where he would work next.
On Aug. 22, Garza, 29, began using that knife again. He started a full-time job as a line cook for Howard County General Hospital. “Being able to serve others goes a long way in the healing process,” he says.
Recruitment specialist Ana Liesch says she hopes to hire other locals who lost jobs due to the storm, billed as a once-in-a-thousand-year event.
“We are providing support any way we can,” says hospital President Steven Snelgrove. “It may mean jobs; it may mean asking for volunteers to serve those who are doing the physical labor. It may mean moral support.”
Nonprofits, individuals and governments have all stepped forward to begin the process of restoring downtown Ellicott City. The hospital, meanwhile, has been fulfilling its role as healer.
The hospital gave $10,000 from its community funding program to the Ellicott City Partnership, which is directing 100 percent of donations toward rebuilding efforts. Employees and community physicians contributed hundreds of pounds of food.
In mid-August, as heat and humidity soared to dangerous heights, the hospital set up first aid tents along Main Street. Nurses treated people for high blood pressure, exhaustion and dehydration during two days of emotional cleanup. On Oct. 15, a group of hospital volunteers was scheduled to clear debris from a litter-filled portion of the Patapsco River.
“I needed to be there to help,” says nurse Esther Gooding, who lives in Ellicott City. “It’s going to take all of us to bring Main Street back.”