Waterlogged!

Tuesday, March 30, 2010 |


It's no secret that it's been raining {A LOT} here in Connecticut.

To our relief, our basement has been bone dry despite the torrential rains.



We've been lucky .... up until this morning.


Our alarm clock this morning was the rain coming down so hard it sounded like someone was pounding on our walls.


I took the first peek at 6:00am on my way to get my first cup of coffee ~ alls well


One last check before hopping into the shower at 6:45am ~ still safe and dry.


My husband did one last check before heading to the office at 7:30am ~ hmmm ...


I heard him go back up the stairs to our bedroom and return in shorts and his Crocs


This ladies and gentlemen, is NOT a good sign!


By this time, it's too late for me to call out of school. I did what I could then left for my classroom knowing that I would need to get back home ASAP.


I barely made it out of our subdivision and I drive a large SUV. I made it half way down the road to find it closed due to what is normally a small river flooding over the road. Nope, not a good sign of what was to come.


I had to try 3 alternative routes to get to school.
My normal 10 minute drive to school took me almost 45 minutes.
Mind you, I've now called in to let them know I'm going to be late and that I need coverage in my classroom so that I can come back home and deal with the non stop river flowing into our home.


By 9:30am our entire southeastern community is in trouble.


Rivers and ponds are flooding, streets are being closed, and neighborhoods are being evacuated.


They began closing area schools and bringing buses in as soon as they could. Parents were encouraged to pick up students as quickly {and safely} as possible.


As a parent, you know when little guys schedules are upset, they lose control. I had more scared and crying children than I did arms and laps.
At one point I just started to laugh because I didn't think it would be a good idea if the teacher started crying too ... ugh!


There was no way I could leave my newly established crying club {oh my!} so I called my husband only to learn that our sump pump had died.
Well of course it did ~ what fun would we have if we didn't have to panic at finding another one!
{Thankfully, my husband was able to fix it while the water continued to over take our basement}



I finally returned home just after noon and after many turn arounds of closed roads.
 
Hours later, and one very sore and tired husband, our basement is drying out.
Thankfully, most of our storage is in plastic bins or on shelves. We have a carpeted family room in the basement that doesn't appear to have much damage and none of the furniture is damaged ~ thank heavens!
The total rainfall in our town is 10 inches ~ if nothing else, our lawn should be nice and green this spring.
{trying to look on the bright side}
 


It's hard to see but the water is moving like a river in our side yard. The force of the water created deep groves in our landscaping at the very front of the yard. We lost a few plants and a fair amount of soil.

There is just no where for this water to go ~ we've more than exceeded the saturation point.

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This is the ravine on the side of our driveway. It's at least 15 feet deep and is over flowing into the street.


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12 comments:

Suburban Princess said...

OMG! What a crazy scene! I am suddenly very glad I live at the top of a hill!

Southern Living: Preppy Style said...

Oh me oh my! Thinking about you and your poor hubby! Glad to hear the damage isn't too awfully bad, but wow, what a day!

Southern Living: Preppy Style said...

Oh me oh my! Thinking about you and your poor hubby! Glad to hear the damage isn't too awfully bad, but wow, what a day!

Henley on the Horn said...

Oh my goodness! You poor things. I am so sorry. We had a similar thing happen years ago while several people were at our house playing spades. It is not fun to have your basement flood. We had to add French drains in addition to our sump pump. Someone else is enjoying those drains now! I hope the rain has stopped and that y'all are okay. I am sure everyone will be happy to go Dutch treat! :)

Wanda said...

Oh, how horrible. Thankfully it sounds like you salvaged the basement. Water damage is so bad - we're experts here and I'd really rather not be.

Wishing you dryer days ahead!

Patty said...

Wow that is crazy! At least it makes for good shots though ;) hope you guys get "un-waterlogged" soon!

bevy said...

This is CRAZY! I honestly could not believe all the FB posts and tweets about the Flood of the NE", but your pictures say it all.

Hate that your day was so chaotic. I know your class really needed you today... and know your husband will need some TLC too! What a superman!

Did get your email... will respond now!

Holly Lefevre said...

That is a lot of water...can you put it in buckets and send it to California...we always need water. Seriously though...I hope that is the worst of it for you.

theUngourmet said...

Crazy weather! We have been getting a ton of rain as well. Sorry about your basement! ;0(

Southern Aspirations said...

oh my goodness what a crazy scene! Hoping that the damage is not too bad and under control!

KK said...

Oh no, you poor thing! Sending "dry" thought your way!!! This rain up here HAS TO stop...

Chez Zizi said...

I completely feel for you. We keep going down to our basement as well (only a little bit of water yesterday). My sister in law lives in CT and my goodness she had a small pool in the front yard and in the backyard from the rain (It actually was a little river for a while connecting the two and carrying logs that were cut from her backyard - two boys from across the street came over with boats to play).
Good luck in drying out.
Zizette

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