is the smell . `` Like sewage , '' he said . Shannon Woerner was at home in nearby Essex , Maryland , when he heard the news about the water main break -- and the call for boats . He loaded his kayak in his truck and headed to the scene . `` I just wanted to see if I could help , '' he said . Woerner said he assisted by ferrying car keys and other items across flooded streets to people who were cut off from their homes by the water . Standing at the corner of Court and McShane streets , Mike Pell , 34 , watched the water slowly recede after the main was shut . Water covered the wheels of his pickup truck . `` My basement 's done , '' he said , pointing to his shoulder to show the height of the water inside , where he and his fiancée had their bedroom . `` All of our clothes are ruined , '' he said . He managed to get his two children , ages 2 and 3 , to a dry area on the first floor of the house . ``
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- A huge water main burst under a road in the suburban Baltimore community of Dundalk , Maryland , Friday , sending muddy water erupting over neighborhood streets and down highway ramps , officials said . Muddy water envelops the community of Dundalk , Maryland , on Friday . Many were left without power . The 72-inch main was shut about two hours after it ruptured , Baltimore County Chief Executive Jim Smith told CNN . No injuries were reported , Smith said , but he urged residents to `` shelter in place '' and not to go into the knee - to chest-high water under any circumstances . `` This is not a game , '' Smith warned . Authorities set up a command center near the site of the break and swift-water boat rescue teams were standing by , he added . See water main break damage '' Resident David Johnson said he felt helpless as he stood outside his house and watched the dirty brown water creep up his lawn and approach his front door . It stopped inches away and his basement stayed dry . The worst part now , Johnson said ,