Sunday, September 27, 2009

Water, Water Everywhere

By now you've probably heard about the flooding in the Atlanta area. Here's how it was for us.

On Tuesday, the 15th, we got a little rain...less than 1/2". Our assistant pastor called and wanted to know if Jerry would be available the next day to help a lady in the parish who had to move some of her belongings from a storage facility in Decatur to her home here in Covington. He said he'd be glad to help. I went with him. So that was Wednesday, the 16th. I checked before we left home and it looked like there were a few green spots showing up on the radar, but I thought we would probably be able to get there, load up, and get back without too much trouble. With all of our drought years over the past decade or so, we're used to seeing blips on the radar that dry up before they get here. There was our open pick-up truck and one other -- also open -- and we loaded most of her things. It started raining lightly just as we were finishing packing. On the way home -- almost ALL the way home -- it rained as hard as it possibly could. Everything got pretty well soaked. I felt awful for her. I'm not sure how much of it she was able to save. She did have a fairly new mattress and box spring that had to go to the dump the next day. The person with the other truck went back the next day and helped her get the rest of it...but it rained that day as well. Still -- she was very grateful for the help.

Each of those days we got a little over an inch of rain at our house, but on the west and north sides of Atlanta they were getting much more than that. On Saturday morning we had planned to get up early and go encourage Jodi and Savannah as they participated in a one-mile fun run at their church. Since lightning is the only weather that will postpone a race, they ran in the rain. And we got there just in time to see them come it. We got another inch 1.1" at our house that day, but the deluges continued on the other side of Atlanta.

The system that was bringing all the rain was still around and we got just a 1/4" on Sunday. But by Monday afternoon things were getting serious. Some of the rivers and creeks in our area were under flash flood watches and warnings due to the run-off coming down from the north of Atlanta where there had already been flooding. Then on Monday afternoon we got about 3-1/2" of rain in about 90 minutes. Now we were one of the counties in serious trouble, too.

On Tuesday morning, Jerry and I were headed over to Covington. When we got to the bridge over the Yellow River -- about 4 miles from our house -- we were shocked to see how high the water was under the bridge. I asked him to turn and go down my friend, Amelia's, road. She lives just a short way beyond the river. Her house, as well as her father's and one of her daughters', are all on the left side of her road and well back and up the hill. On the right side of the road is usually a beautiful lake that is also their property. There is an earthen dam between the river and their lake. When we turned onto her road, we were surprised to see that the water was already over the road and rising. It was nearing the top of the earthen dam. And as we stood there with her and some of her family, we watched it rise over that dam and just keep coming. We were there about 10:30 in the morning and she said that when they left for work about 7:30, there was no water on the road. This little gazebo is on a walkway that goes from the shore of their lake to a small cottage on an island. Usually the gazebo is 5 feet above the water. Later in the afternoon, she said, the water was flowing through this gazebo and half of the walkway had been washed away. She said the lowest parts of the fence along side the road were under water, as well. She estimated that the water level inside the cabin was probably about 4 feet. She told us that in the 33 years she has lived in that house, she has never seen it like this.
Still, she and her family realize how blessed they were to still have their homes and each other. There are so many in our area that have lost so much more than that. It was amazing to see the power of nature close up and it is heartbreaking to see what it can do. But our thoughts and prayers are with so many of our neighbors as they begin the struggle to rebuild their lives.

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