Four writers from around the country provide snapshots of their local economies.
A YEAR ago, the Iowa River broke through a levee three blocks from Ed Fisher's tropical fish store and wiped him out.
Ed had opened Coralville Bay five years earlier. The store was named for its location off Highway 6, which links the town of Coralville to Iowa City. Coralville itself is named for the Devonian-era fossils in its foundation, reminders of another water-covered time long ago.
Until last June, business was fine. Local doctors peered into his tanks for the fish that calmed their waiting rooms. Parents sought "bread and butter" fish — guppies, goldfish. College boys bought piranhas.
Then the Flood of 2008 rolled in and left Ed and his neighbors under several feet of water.
For business owners like Ed, last year's floods have virtually eclipsed the recession. He was unable to enter the building for two weeks. Without electricity to pump oxygen, most of his stock perished, including a tank of Amazonian discus fish valued at almost $2,000. Like many local business owners, Ed had no flood insurance. And to complete his desolation, the flood had left him homeless. Since he focused his efforts on trying to save his store, he managed to salvage only a few armfuls of clothing from his apartment.
After all, some of the bread-and-butter fish did manage to survive. So did an outdoor tub of koi, buoyed up by floodwater and set down again without a drop of contamination. Ed considered these survivors signs of hope.
Ed applied for emergency food stamps, which kept him going through the worst weeks. Friends as well as strangers heard the story of his bad luck. They sent small sums of money in the mail, no strings attached. Ed's sister's church took up a collection and sent him $1,500. The Iowa Chamber of Commerce gave him $2,500.
A few weeks ago, he began to stock fish in the new store. "We've been ringing the register. We're seeing old customers, through word of mouth." Outside sits Ed's familiar van. Covered with fish decals and the name of the store, the van is the only major possession he managed to save. Its brakes are gone now, and its main function is to direct customers to the store.
A version of this article appeared in print on July 5, 2009, on page WK10 of the New York edition.