I've posted a few links on Facebook to photos of our recent flooding from Hurricane Irene already. For those of you that haven't seen those, here's a couple photos shot by a plane going overhead.
Nearby Tunkhannock
And our little villageAs mandated essential personnel, I went to work and even put in voluntary overtime. This company loyalty required circumventing a Road Closed sign and blatantly ignoring a county driving ban, risking a hefty ticket.
Halfway through the morning, people were already noticing a strong smell of propane in the air. By noon, I had a meltdown in front of a supervisor and a UPS delivery man when my husband called to say the cat got out and the river was in the yard - this just after we had received word the bridge was being closed and I had no way home. About an hour later, during which time I repeatedly berated myself for leaving the house and envisioned Ming being pulled away by the river, he called back with news the cat was found and safe.
Around 6 PM, it was becoming increasingly evident my options were limited to bunking up at work; I called home begging for a miracle in the next couple hours. The river was still hours away from cresting and reports were coming in that it had already begun to trickle over part of the bridge. I tried to focus on other things, all the while holding onto a sliver of hope he was going to find a passable route. It was illogical really; our road in the opposite direction had become one with the river half a mile up and all the side roads in between were closed, as well.
The loving husband called back roughly an hour later and told me I had 15 minutes to get a ride to the bridge. Apparently, he had gone down to the bridge and waved a hundred dollar bill in the air, payable to whomever could get his wife home. He hashed out the [lack of] possibilities with emergency personnel. The river was already rushing over the road at the end of the bridge about a foot deep. Then, the fire truck appeared. The fire chief turned down his bribes, but agreed to get me over the bridge. There was the chance the fire truck would have to respond elsewhere at any moment, hence the 15 minute deadline. I dropped everything at work, forgot to even lock a door and left my glasses. A coworker drove me to the bridge; the side of the road leading up to the bridge was lined with cars left behind by others who had to find another way home (probably on foot or a friend's larger vehicle). A heavy fog was hanging in the air, which I learned was actually a propane "fog". The hose company was still waiting, thankfully, and they got me over the bridge and through the rushing water to my husband, who was waiting with open arms. As for the cat, he received a stern lecture and a long cuddle.
The next morning, we learned that a house next to the bridge had exploded overnight. Apparently, a propane tank had been carried over by the river and bashed into the house. People were trying to ascertain whether an elderly couple had evacuated or were still inside their home, which was surrounded by a fair amount of water. I went to work, again. [Insert stupidity award here] Surprisingly, the river had crested overnight and the level had reduced enough to re-open the bridge. Pretty much everything was still under water and the National Guard had posted themselves at the bridge, blocking off a low-lying road that had been replaced by the Susquehanna. I didn't put in a whole day at work, didn't want to tempt fate, but put in a fair amount of the day before returning home (with my car this time).
We suffered minor inconveniences - Don almost didn't have a way to get to work (the river receded enough in time), the smell of propane took several days to dissipate, and it took a couple hours to find a gallon of milk (several different routes due to road closures and sold out wherever we checked). There's a porch up a tree in our grove and another sitting behind the garden. We inherited lots of barrels and other assorted items. All we lost were the pumpkin patch and half of the garden. Several homes down our back road are either gone or incurred significant damage, while a portion of the road is impassable due to a structure blocking the way. A handful of families in our village are still looking for the other half of their house. That's just our neck of the woods; there's many more boroughs in the Valley and other villages all along the Susquehanna that experienced a similar situation.
Halfway through the morning, people were already noticing a strong smell of propane in the air. By noon, I had a meltdown in front of a supervisor and a UPS delivery man when my husband called to say the cat got out and the river was in the yard - this just after we had received word the bridge was being closed and I had no way home. About an hour later, during which time I repeatedly berated myself for leaving the house and envisioned Ming being pulled away by the river, he called back with news the cat was found and safe.
Around 6 PM, it was becoming increasingly evident my options were limited to bunking up at work; I called home begging for a miracle in the next couple hours. The river was still hours away from cresting and reports were coming in that it had already begun to trickle over part of the bridge. I tried to focus on other things, all the while holding onto a sliver of hope he was going to find a passable route. It was illogical really; our road in the opposite direction had become one with the river half a mile up and all the side roads in between were closed, as well.
The loving husband called back roughly an hour later and told me I had 15 minutes to get a ride to the bridge. Apparently, he had gone down to the bridge and waved a hundred dollar bill in the air, payable to whomever could get his wife home. He hashed out the [lack of] possibilities with emergency personnel. The river was already rushing over the road at the end of the bridge about a foot deep. Then, the fire truck appeared. The fire chief turned down his bribes, but agreed to get me over the bridge. There was the chance the fire truck would have to respond elsewhere at any moment, hence the 15 minute deadline. I dropped everything at work, forgot to even lock a door and left my glasses. A coworker drove me to the bridge; the side of the road leading up to the bridge was lined with cars left behind by others who had to find another way home (probably on foot or a friend's larger vehicle). A heavy fog was hanging in the air, which I learned was actually a propane "fog". The hose company was still waiting, thankfully, and they got me over the bridge and through the rushing water to my husband, who was waiting with open arms. As for the cat, he received a stern lecture and a long cuddle.
The next morning, we learned that a house next to the bridge had exploded overnight. Apparently, a propane tank had been carried over by the river and bashed into the house. People were trying to ascertain whether an elderly couple had evacuated or were still inside their home, which was surrounded by a fair amount of water. I went to work, again. [Insert stupidity award here] Surprisingly, the river had crested overnight and the level had reduced enough to re-open the bridge. Pretty much everything was still under water and the National Guard had posted themselves at the bridge, blocking off a low-lying road that had been replaced by the Susquehanna. I didn't put in a whole day at work, didn't want to tempt fate, but put in a fair amount of the day before returning home (with my car this time).
We suffered minor inconveniences - Don almost didn't have a way to get to work (the river receded enough in time), the smell of propane took several days to dissipate, and it took a couple hours to find a gallon of milk (several different routes due to road closures and sold out wherever we checked). There's a porch up a tree in our grove and another sitting behind the garden. We inherited lots of barrels and other assorted items. All we lost were the pumpkin patch and half of the garden. Several homes down our back road are either gone or incurred significant damage, while a portion of the road is impassable due to a structure blocking the way. A handful of families in our village are still looking for the other half of their house. That's just our neck of the woods; there's many more boroughs in the Valley and other villages all along the Susquehanna that experienced a similar situation.
1 comments:
bau :)
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