Top, the muddy waters of the Dan welled up in Riverdale as seen in this overhead shot; above, Riverdale was closed to traffic starting Tuesday as the river reached 27 feet above stage on Wednesday (Top photo contributed by Bob Brown; above, David Conner II photo)

Daffodil Graham is a member of a large extended family of African-American Sizemores, descendants of the people enslaved by the author’s great-great-great-grandfather. She is shown here with her great-uncle George Sizemore.