On July 30, in Ellicott City, MD, population around 65,000, this happened:
I first came across this gif while I was browsing Reddit earlier today. I saw it in an AskReddit thread posing the question: "What photos show the brighter side of humanity?"
When I first saw the image, I casually thought, "Huh. I wonder when that happened? Must've been a while ago, and I missed it when it was on the news." I clicked the source link which lead me to another Reddit thread that had been posted a little over a week ago titled, "Human chain rescue in Maryland last night."
I was shocked that this flood was such a new piece of news. Somehow, knowing that a rescue like this was so recent made it seem more dangerous and important.
After scanning the comments in the "human chain" Reddit post, I was somewhat relieved to find that I wasn't the only one ignorant of this incident. Apparently, it wasn't even really covered by any large media outlets. It didn't get a whole lot of recognition on social media. And even Reddit users who lived in Maryland and surrounding areas said that there was no breaking news when it happened. (However, despite the nonexistent immediate coverage, it does seem that by August 1 a few major news outlets had reported stories on the incident and a great deal more local news stations had covered the story.)
In Ellicott City, a month's worth of rain dumped on the town in a span of two hours. Within minutes, cars and people were getting swept away by three inches of water. Two people ended up dying in the flood, but 120 were rescued.
Ellicott City is located in an area that faces floods relatively often; however, nothing quite as bad as this one has happened in ages. It's a historic town, largely reliant on tourism. Many business owners lost nearly everything in the flood; many historic buildings are going to need big renovations while some are completely ruined with no hope of being repaired. This is obviously horrible for the "tourism and history" aspect of the town. Many residents are out of a business and/or a job.
Despite the tragedy and loss from this incident, I can't help but see the good in it.
The video of that woman being saved from her car is so incredible to me. The man at the front of the chain, earlier in the video, charged alone out into the water to help save that woman who was too in shock to help save herself. Apparently, the man owned a store on Main Street (where the video took place), and instead of trying to save his store, he chose to wade right out in danger, nearly being swept away by the water. Then, after almost drowning, he continued to try to save the woman.
With the statistic of 120 rescues, that means that a selfless act like this one happened over a hundred other times during this flood. People chose to help each other rather than watch out for only themselves. Reddit was right: this incident does show the brighter side of humanity.
During a time when the only news stories we seem to see have to do with crime, hate, death and negativity, I would love to see this story--with selfless rescues wildly outnumbering tragic deaths--on the news. I would love for Ellicott City to receive support from the media and the rest of the country to help rebuild the homes and livelihoods of residents.
This is one story where I can't help but notice the uplifting side of it. I think seeing selfless acts like this during the flood and seeing a large-scale display of love like what could be provided for Ellicott City is vastly more important than whatever negativity large news outlets find imperative to show.
