This article reflects upon authority in the creation of stories of flood resilience in the community of Tuti island in Greater Khartoum, the tripartite capital of Sudan. It focusses on ‘We are proud of them’, a story map utilised to generate a visual narrative by linking oral histories with photographs, videos, audio files, maps and spatial processes. Its primary focus is to represent and communicate the intersection of human life with the natural environment in Tuti, with particular attention to extreme flood events, a recurrent phenomenon in the island’s history. Oral history revealed the complexities of an imbued memory that links the community to past floods and takes the form of traditional knowledge practices that Tutians mobilise to manage floods. Visual and audio material from the 2020 Sudanese floods complemented the words uttered in oral sessions to create the story map. The collaborative process leading to the creation of the story map involved inhabitants of Tuti, Sudanese students and European researchers. This process, as well as the limitations with regard to shared authority between the researchers and local people, are discussed.