On loss and resilience
Residents rose to the challenge of the Ellicott City flood
One year ago today, a devastating flood tore through Ellicott City. It is a solemn anniversary, and as it approached, I have been reflecting not only on the tragedy of lives lost and businesses shuttered, but also on the remarkable response of our community and the manner in which people came together to help those who owned businesses or were employees or residents on Main Street.
As the rain fell that fateful night and the first reports of some flooding surfaced on social media, I googled "flood relief supplies" and put up a post on Facebook asking for donations, thinking we could all go to Main Street to help clean up in the morning. Supplies started arriving at my garage door at dawn, and as the degree of devastation became known, the line of cars to drop off supplies grew longer. In 24 hours, my entire garage was filled.
The idea of one day of cleanup turned into weeks of an impressive supply distribution operation run entirely by volunteers. Everything that could possibly be needed was donated by citizens: bleach, mops, trash bags, shovels, paper towels, wheelbarrows, cleaning supplies. Most important was the PPE (Personal Protection Equipment) we were able to give merchants and volunteers at no cost to protect their health from toxic mud and mold — boots, masks, goggles, gloves, coveralls.
Later when we had given away truckloads of donations and were running low, we connected with the Lions Club, which provided a grant that was used to buy whatever was on our shortage list. Every couple of days the Lion’s volunteers would deliver these items to us.
Whatever was needed, over a period of almost two months, was provided by this community of people working together toward a common goal.
As the end of August came and the start of the school year neared, we asked around to find families with children who might need help with back-to-school clothes and supplies. Parents were often reluctant to accept help for themselves, but they were more willing to allow their children to be beneficiaries. We would post what was needed for an anonymous family affected by the flood and almost immediately others would volunteer to meet the need. Businesses, PTAs, neighborhood groups and individuals adopted each child in need, and armed with things like shoe sizes, school supply lists, favorite colors and sports teams, shopped for everything and dropped it off at my garage. We would rendezvous with the family contact or their employer and hand over the unique donations needed for each child. One business outfitted an entire apartment for a family displaced from their home. Wolf Furniture donated some mattresses and discounted others.
On a parallel path, Ellicott City Partnership was managing the collection of money to help businesses rebuild and working 24/7 to troubleshoot the many issues as they arose. ECP raised over $1.7 million from the generosity of people across the state. This was distributed in grants directly to merchants to help make up for their losses, most of which were not covered by insurance. A musical fundraiser held at Merriweather was a fitting close to the first phase of recovery.
Many grateful merchants and residents would say to us, “please thank the people who donated these items.” But we would always say “no, thank you” — thank you for giving us a way to help, thank you for accepting help and for bringing our community together in our shared humanity and in a way we seldom see over a sustained period of time. I think of the harrowing stories told by survivors, and I marvel at the resilience of residents and merchants on Main Street. I am awed by the generosity and love so freely and overwhelmingly given by our larger community in Howard County and throughout Maryland.
A new sense of community permeates the region, one built on the shared experience of survival.