
Roaring flash floods that struck a Maryland city have toppled buildings, swept away dozens of cars and turned streets into raging rivers that reached as high as six feet.

Dramatic footage and photos showed the sudden and violent floodwaters surging through Ellicott City, about 13 miles outside of Baltimore, on Sunday as torrential rain soaked much of the state.

The National Weather Service issued a flash flood emergency for the city late in the afternoon and Maryland Governor Larry Hogan declared a state of emergency soon after.

'This is a catastrophic and life-threatening extremely dangerous situation,' the weather alert warned.

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Dramatic footage emerged of a man desperately trying to escape flash flooding in Maryland on Sunday as torrents of brown water swept away a building and multiple cars around him

Dramatic photos and video emerged showing fast-moving torrents of brown water rushing down Main Street in Ellicott City, just outside Baltimore, on Sunday

Footage taken by one witness showed the town's historic stone cottage being completely swept away and destroyed by the turbulent currents.

A man was captured in one video desperately trying to reach safety as half a dozen cars floated near him. The woman who shot the video, Natalie Walterhoefer, said the man was rescued moments later and was safe.

Other videos showed waves of water rushing through the city's Main Street as it surged as high as six-foot at the height of the flash flooding.

It prompted emergency rescues as the raging waters engulfed cars and rose above the first floor of some buildings.

The community set along the west bank of Maryland's Patapsco River was stricken by deadly flash flooding two years ago.

Authorities had urged residents on Sunday to seek higher ground, while motorists were told not to attempt to navigate flooded roads.

After the floodwaters receded, emergency officials had no immediate reports of fatalities or injuries.

By nightfall first responders and rescue officials were still going through the muddied, damaged downtown, conducting safety checks and ensuring people evacuated.

The flash floods prompted emergency rescues as the raging waters engulfed cars and rose above the first floor of some buildings

Footage taken by bystanders showed waves of water rushing through the city's Main Street as it engulfed cars and reached as high as six-foot

The horror flash flooding in Maryland transformed streets into raging rivers as torrential rain soaked much of the state

The National Weather Service issued a flash flood emergency for the city, warning that it was a catastrophic and life-threatening situation

The Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue Services tweeted that multiple rescues were carried out, and rescue swimmers had been called in to help.

The department also said swift water units from as far away as Northern Virginia were coming to help.

'If you are trapped, we are coming,' they tweeted.

The National Weather Service said nearly eight inches of rain flooded the town.

Meteorologist Mike Muccilli said the worst of the rain appeared to be over by about 8.30pm on Sunday but authorities were just beginning to assess the damage in Ellicott City.

Meanwhile, some roads were also flooded in neighboring Baltimore County.

A spokeswoman in Baltimore County said the fire department has received dozens of calls about cars stuck in high water and flooded basements.

After the water receded later on Sunday, wrecked cars were strewn across Main Street in Ellicott City

Rescue personnel examine damage on Main Street after a flash flood rushed through the historic town of Ellicott City

By nightfall first responders and rescue officials were still going through the muddied, damaged downtown to assess the damage

After the floodwaters receded, emergency officials had no immediate reports of fatalities or injuries

Authorities urged residents on Sunday to seek higher ground immediately and people were being warned to avoid downtown Ellicott City

Water rushes through Main Street in Ellicott City on Sunday as it swept away multiple vehicles

Authorities started to carry out water rescues in the streets with one fire department receiving dozens of calls on Sunday

Authorities said they had no immediate reports of any fatalities but rescue crews were still checking flooded buildings and streets

Main Street, where the devastation occurred in Ellicott City on Sunday (pictured above), is the same area struck by flash flooding in July 2016

Main Street, where the devastation occurred in Ellicott City on Sunday, is the same area struck by flash flooding in July 2016. In that flood, Ellicott City received 6.6 inches of rain over a two to three hour period.

Some residents of Ellicott City told The Baltimore Sun the flooding appeared to be worse than a storm two years ago that killed two people and destroyed local businesses.

The governor on Sunday signed an executive order declaring a state of emergency in response to the recent severe flooding. Hogan said the order would allow the state to efficiently coordinate support and provide additional help to localities experiencing flooding.

He added that the residents of Ellicott City 'went through a horrific ordeal' in 2016 and they are facing a similar emergency now.

'They say this is a once every 1,000-year flood and we've had two of them in two years,' Hogan said.

Howard County Executive Allan Kittleman said he considers the damage worse than the flooding two summers ago.

'They are faced with the same daunting task again,' Kittleman said of the the city's residents and business owners. 'We will be there for them as we were in 2016,' he said.

Mike Muccilli, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Sterling, Virginia, said it was too early to make comparisons between the two floods but said both were devastating.

'In a normal heavy rain event, you wouldn't see this amount of flooding, where you see cars floating down the road,' Muccilli said. 'This was a true flash flood.'

Cars were engulfed by the torrents of water rushing Ellicott City on Sunday afternoon