Tuesday, September 7, 2021

Tuesday is for ...

... recovery, restoration, readjustment, rest, and return.

Yup, I live in Flemington, NJ, and most of that rain fell within about 6 hours. 

First, an apology. I wrote last Thursday's poetry post early on Wednesday morning, when we had only had a few thunderstorms in MD, and Ida's full effects on the northeast were really just beginning. After re-reading that post yesterday, I'm a bit ashamed and regret how glib and tone-deaf it sounds. Asking people to stitch together what beauty there is while they are undergoing devastating flooding, loss, and death is inappropriate. I've learned a lesson to not post so far ahead, and I am sorry for that post at that time.

I've also learned some other lessons. I naively assumed that we would get some rain from Ida, I might have to use the shop-vac to vacuum up any water in the cellar in NJ, and anxiously waited out the tornado warnings and 6-8" of rain in MD on Wednesday. A friend sent me these photos from NJ on Thursday, and I knew that things were much worse than I expected. 



These are from an intersection about a mile away from our house in NJ. There was flash flooding, cars were inundated, and more than 300 people had to be rescued from the water. 


This is three houses away from ours, and while it's hard to understand the perspective, that large water cooler bottle is floating down the street that has turned into a river with more than two feet of water.

We drove home to NJ on Friday morning, not knowing what we might encounter once we got there. It's a good thing we waited until Friday because the roads were impassable before then. This is what they looked like on Thursday:


That sign is pointing towards Route 295, the way we head to MD. That thing that looks like a dam in the middle is the concrete median in the road between the north and southbound lanes.

We got home to NJ okay, found that we had probably had 8-10" of water in the cellar, but the water had receded quite a bit by Friday. John and I used our shop-vacs, started the dehumidifier, and tried to make our way to Ryan's house in PA. We had talked to him numerous times and knew that he had almost 10" of water in his cellar, even though his sump pump was running continuously. John gave him instructions on how to shut down his gas hot water heater and furnace before the flood waters reached the pilot lights. He also turned off breakers before the water reached electric outlets in the cellar, being careful not to shut off the one to the sump pump. 

We got there Friday night after weaving our way around roads closed due to flooding, downed trees, and wires, and all three of us started using shop-vacs to suck water out of the cellar. Part of Ryan's cellar is finished and we were trying to save the carpet. The sump pump was still pumping and we took almost 100 gallons out with the shop-vacs. We repeated the process again Saturday morning and only got three gallons then. The carpet didn't feel wet but I'm sure it still was. We're now running a dehumidifier and fans, trying to see if we can save the carpet and the sheetrock, but that remains to be seen. 

My sister also lives in PA and while she didn't experience flooding, she did have a giant tree fall on their new garage. The whole front part of the roof is damaged and trusses and beams inside are cracked, so this will be a big repair job. My sister lost her son in May, so as bad as 2020 was, 2021 is so much worse. At least this garage mishap can be fixed.

John was traveling in September of 1999, which meant that I was home alone with the kids during the three days of Hurricane Floyd. We got more than 12" of rain, and more than 12" in the cellar. We didn't have a sump pump then, so I was busy siphoning water out with two garden hoses. I learned my own lessons about shutting off our oil furnace before the water reached the fire box and being very thankful that it worked when we were able to re-start it. We installed a sump pump after that, and it's been able to keep up with water through Hurricane Irene in 2011 and Sandy in 2012. The biggest problem with Sandy was the prolonged power outage (8 days for us), but with John's magic touch we ran a generator. Ryan's neighbor came over on Saturday and told us that they had a storm with 8" of rainfall two years ago, and his finished basement was flooded when his sump pump couldn't keep up. He has since installed a second one and a battery backup, and his cellar remained dry through Ida. I'll spare you my lectures on climate change, but it's clear that we can no longer use historical data about local weather-related disasters that happened in the past when planning for the future. We must take global warming into account. I have heard this storm called a once-in-a lifetime event, but I don't think that is the case. We are going to be prepared for the next time by installing second sump pumps and battery backups in NJ and Ryan's house in PA. 

I was having some trouble counting my blessings on Saturday morning when I was tired of using the shop-vac, emptying it, looking at all the damage in Ryan's house, and my back was killing me. But I quickly realized that we were all okay, we had the resources to deal with the flooding issues we were having, and things could have been so much worse. Ida caused 66 deaths in the storm, with 27 deaths in NJ alone and six in our county. Four people are still missing. On our way over to Ryan's, John and I saw a pickup truck that had been swept away by the floodwaters and the driver died trapped inside. It was a sobering sight.

This post is long enough already, and I'm mainly writing things to remind myself, just in case I start to forget some of the lessons I've learned. Don't post too far ahead, listen and pay attention to the weather, don't take flash flood warnings lightly, be prepared, and be over-prepared if possible. Above all, be grateful for all that you have, and especially for the people in your life.

16 comments:

  1. Oh, Bonny. I am so sorry. I've been thinking about you and wondering . . . Sending all my love and good juju, and holding you in my heart. XOXO

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  2. This storm was (once again) a sobering lesson. I'm thankful that you and your family are safe and ok. The father of one of Colin's friends had his car swept away Thursday morning while he was on his way to work. Thankfully he got out before the car was taken by the water. Scary times!!

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  3. Oh Bonny! Gah, I am so so sorry. It was bad here, but I see from your photos it was much worse there! I agree with you... we no longer have once in a lifetime events.... we have monthly events, all over. It is so sobering.

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  4. I am very glad to hear that though you were dealing with lots of water where it shouldn't be, you are all okay. That is the most important thing. These storms are only going to be more common, and while it's hard to suffer all the damage, people are irreplaceable.

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  5. Everytime I would hear "flooding in NJ" on the news fear would bloom in my heart. I was relieved by your last post, but see that was not the case. Gratefully, you are all well (albeit a little sore) and your properties have all survived, but you still had to live and work through the devastation to come out the other side whole. My heart is with you and I wish I could wiggle my nose and be back in NJ to be by your side and give a hand.

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  6. I'm glad you are all okay. We "only" had 7" here but it was quite an event. My basement walls were seeping, but the sump pump kept up and no water rose up from the floor. If the pump stops, we're in trouble. (We bought a gas generator when the power was out earlier this summer, but haven't used it yet.) Our basement is tiny - just 10x10' - but if that pump goes out, it would cause a lot of damage... furnace, hot water heater, chest freezer, washer, dryer are all stuffed down there.

    I need to investigate "battery backup." I've been told that is only for newer construction but I don't really know anything about it.

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  7. Shame on you, Bonny, for not being clairvoyant. How in the world could you know what would happen? Don't feel badly about that! I am so sorry your family has had to endure this, but I am so glad that you came through it without injury. You have been in my thoughts a lot lately. It's hard to be grateful in times like these, and I hope you are able to keep that thought in your mind some of the time. I am thinking good thoughts about you having no real damage in your two basements after all is dried out. I know you are all exhausted, so take it easy and be kind to yourselves. I cannot believe all the work you have done in the last few days! May this week bring only good surprises. BTW, I got some seeds in the mail Friday. That was fast.

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  8. I'm so glad to hear that you and your family are all okay, but I'm sorry for all the property damage and loss of life from that storm. Nearly 50 years ago I graduated high school during Hurricane Agnes when nearby towns on the Delaware were flooded. My grandmother was evacuated from her Matamoras, PA home over the mountain to our town in NY where the flooding was less severe. There was talk of cancelling our graduation, but they were able to move it indoors. It is amazing how much damage water can do. If I were back east, I would help you with the clean up!

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    1. I remember Hurricane Agnes, but I was a teenager living in my parent's home, so they were more concerned than I was. It is incredible how much damage water can do. We were really lucky, and the worst is over for us, so we don't need clean up help (but thank you anyway!) We may still have to rip up the carpet and tear down the sheetrock in Ryan's cellar, but that is a relatively small thing compared to the damage and losses that others have sustained. We are all okay and will definitely be better-prepared (and hopefully over-prepared) next time.

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  9. I'm so glad you posted to let us know that you all are okay. Thank you for these photos, they really help to show how devastating that much water can be, as I think it's generally hard to wrap your head around if you've never seen it - which I haven't, thank goodness.

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  10. Oh my. That's all just devastating... and sobering. Thank you. And I'm so glad you're all "okay."

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  11. I'm glad you and your family are ok. The pictures really show how much damage water can do.

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    1. Thanks, Suzanne. Even though I saw it in person, I still have a hard time wrapping my head around all the damage that water can do.

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  12. Oh my goodness, that is just awful and the stress of watching it unfold and affecting you personally is probably more than one can take!!

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  13. Oh Bonny, what a mess! I don't know very many people who were personally impacted (as opposed to inconvenienced) - these photos are a gut punch. I'm so grateful you and your family are OK, with the means to recover. My heart goes out especially to your sister. It looks like there is more rain and storms headed your way ... I'm sorry - we had flash flood warnings here overnight and more rain today. If only we could ship it all out out west! xxoo. -Mary

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  14. Oh my stars. What a mess and what a lot of work to move so much water. Your photos are very sobering. I'm glad you and your family are safe with the resources to help. Climate change is indeed a reality that needs action.

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