Ken Conca, After the Floods: The Search for Resilience in Ellicott City

In the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, a number of towns in Western North Carolina have been devastated by floods despite not being the usual targets of hurricanes or major flooding. Asheville, a growing tourist and residential hot spot in the mountains, was even called a "climate haven" because of its supposed geographic safety from climate disasters. How do these towns begin to recover?

Ken Conca's new book, After the Floods: The Search for Resilience in Ellicott City, deals with this very issue on a local level. One small town in Maryland, two "thousand-year floods" in the span of two years: how does a community become resilient in the face of the ever-increasing risks of climate change?

Small towns across America and around the world face mounting challenges with flood risk, a result of not only climate change but also poorly adapted landscapes, sprawl, overdevelopment and poor planning. After the Floods is about Ellicott City, a small town in central Maryland that experienced two devastating flash floods just 22 months apart. Despite the town's many advantages-wealth, access to expertise, a mobilized community, and a stout identity steeped in 250 years of history-Ellicott City found itself mired in a deeply divisive argument over what to do in the aftermath. As a resident, Ken Conca bore firsthand witness to the conflict that took root when the flood waters receded.

While this book is about one residential suburb, the dilemmas that it faces over how to adapt to climate change are ones that communities across the United States, and the world, are facing as well. On one level a story about re-engineering a landscape, After the Floods ultimately grapples with uncertainty over local history, justice, democracy, and identity. What can we know about future risks to our communities? What is the meaning of place and history when preservation goals come into conflict with flood protection? What should we protect? Who gets to speak for the community? In Ellicott City's search for answers, we can find important lessons for other small communities like those in North Carolina that must begin preparing for future climate risks.

Ken Conca, After the Floods: The Search for Resilience in Ellicott City, Oxford University Press (2024).