Waterlogged ~ Update

I am home today because it is not safe for students or staff to travel. In all my years of teaching, I have never had a day off from school due to flooding.

We have rivers that are just beginning to crest,

bridges that have been washed away,

roads that are still deeply covered in water,

cars that have been abandoned,

families that are displaced due to evacuations,

and damage that has yet to be assessed.

A dear friend went to bed last night with a dry home only to wake up to 6 inches of water ~ and it stopped rainingyesterday afternoon! We have another that had to evacuate her home yesterday morning and hasn’t been able to return. Yet another that had rushing water up to her windowsills ~ they've lost half their home.

There just isn't anywhere for this water to go!

I feel for the families that have lost so much ...

their personal belongings, family memories, and keepsakes.
It's heartbreaking!

We have standing water on our property that is feet deep but for now, our basement continues to dry out with no new signs of seeping water returns.

Our main road is closed so I'll be staying put today.

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Waterlogged!

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.

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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~Plus~

~Plus~

~Plus~


~Equals~





FLASH FLOOD IN BASEMENT

{The pictures were taken after most of the water had been removed}






I was out treating myself to an enjoyably relaxing trip to the Commissary, on payday no less {only those that are military affiliated will understand that true charm of this statement ~ I honestly had NO idea of the date!}, when I get a frantic call from home .

It went something like this ...

Child ~ we have a flood in the basement
Responsible parent ~ seriously? I'm in no mood for games
{remember, Commissary on payday}
Child ~ Mom, would we joke around about this?
Responsible parent ~ um yes, need I remind you about the mouse trick last night?
Child ~ oh yea (giggling)
Responsible parent ~ clean up the mess and I'll be home soon
Child ~ OK
Child ~ you might want to stop by the rental store
Responsible parent ~ and why would that be?
Child ~ because our pump can't handle all the water that is flooding in the bulk head doors like a waterfall!
phone conversation ends.

Lovely, just lovely!

Responsible parent now alone in her SUV shares a quiet moment with her non existent husband out loud ~ yes, that's right, I was talking to myself while leaving the base. No worries, the windows were rolled up since it was raining so darn hard.

True to their word, we had a flood in the basement. We started the clean up at 2:00pm this afternoon. It is now 11:30pm and I along with my children are going to bed. It's been a very, very, long day!

Oh, if you're reading this at some point sweet husband of mine, when you return there will be a rather large charge on our credit card for the Norwich Inn and Spa. No need to question it, the pictures I took of the damaged goods for the insurance company will be explanation enough. :)

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