ELLICOTT CITY, Md. — Whatever destruction Hurricane Milton brings, there will be big decisions ahead about how to rebuild and even what places might need to be abandoned.
Some damage predictions already exceed $200 billion in combined losses for Milton and Hurricane Helene, which crashed into the Southeast 13 days ago.
Officials in Ellicott City are offering words of encouragement to battered communities in Florida and North Carolina as they hold their historic Maryland community as an example of the recovery that's possible in the future.
Ellicott City was hit in 2011, 2016, and 2018 with catastrophic floods. In one case, six inches of rain fell in two hours. Three people were killed.
Since then, Howard County authorities have poured $200 million of local, state and federal funding into a recovery and climate resiliency project dubbed Safe and Sound.
Howard County Executive Calvin Ball explained the project in a conversation with WUSA9, starting with his message to leaders in hurricane-ravaged communities.
"We know that you're hurting," Ball said. "We know that you're afraid. We know that you're wondering if you can rebuild. You can rebuild stronger and better, and you can use Ellicott City as a national model to preserve your community into the future."
There were difficult crossroads during the Ellicott City recovery, which included a decision to condemn four buildings in the heart of the town that were determined to be impractical to continue defending in a future of climate change.
The area was turned into a mini park.
Ball ticked off the various infrastructure projects that were needed to capture and divert water away from Ellicott City to improve its climate resiliency.
"Just this summer, we broke ground on the third of our major flood mitigation ponds. The first hold about seven and a half million gallons. The third holds about five and a half million gallons. We're also moving forward on an extended north tunnel. The tunnel will be built underground and be about a mile long, and move about 26,000 gallons of water per second. And so that way, as we have these increasing intense and frequent storms, we'll be able to retain the water and move the water in a safe way."
The construction is still underway eight years after the last catastrophic flood.
"This is not something that happens quickly," Ball said.
"It takes time. Ellicott City is a town that's about 250 years old, and if we invest about a decade and $200 million we're going to preserve it for the next 250 years.
Ball said the resiliency projects were critical to building confidence with developers, business owners, and property owners to return to Ellicott City.
Vacancy rates are now at a 30-year low.
Ball noted the town is the second leading economic engine in Howard County after Columbia. He predicted the huge investment will be recovered in the coming years.