Maryland has hundreds of properties that have repeatedly suffered damaging floods. Few are prepared for the next deluge.

The first of a trio of deluges to hit historic Ellicott City since 2011 was enough to make Vince Saulsbury buy flood insurance for his 122-year-old rowhouse atop Main Street. So when devastating surges of stormwater roared down the old mill town’s steep hillsides in 2016 and 2018, the insurance paid Saulsbury more than $30,000. He used the money to clean out muck, replace insulation, water heaters and furnaces, and line the dirt floor of his basement with concrete. He has done whatever he can, like storing boxes and tools high on shelves, to cut his losses the next time the Tiber Branch overflows in his backyard.