For any of you that have been watching the news, you are aware that a good part of WA is flooding. Well, this one is particularly bad. I am very grateful to be nice and warm in my house with lots of food in the fridge. We are fortunate in that our house has not flooded, and doesn't look like it will, however, the small town we live in has become and island unto itself. As we were out taking pictures today one neighbor commented that they now have river front property! But, when everyone has river front property, some with the river running through their property, it loses its appeal.
So, while I should be blogging about Christmas, or folding laundry, I'm not, I am sacrificing my precious time to blog about this record-breaking flood and share with you some of the awesome pictures I got!
So, this is what my hubby had to walk through to get home. He ended up parking his truck at the church and hoofing it home. As my mom put it, "I knew he'd get home, I just didn't know what rules he'd have to break to do it." Lucky for him I was able to drive to the other side of the bridge that he had to walk across and pick him up so he didn't have to walk ALL the way home in soaking wet shoes!
My honey took this pic of the river from the bridge he had to walk across because they closed it to traffic - this is a main bridge going into town. (Since I am blogging this I am trying to not be specific in case their are any creeps reading this :) )
So, this picture is of the highway to the south of us. We sat and watched a truck pull up to the edge of the water, and you could tell they were debating whether or not they'd make it through. We were shocked at how stupid of an idea that was and that they were even considering it. But, they came to their senses and turned around.
And this is the highway to the north of us. This picture really surprised us because we were able to go much further on the road last night. This water over the roadway is only .3 miles away from our house. There is a family from church that lives further down this stretch and they are completely isolated in their home, it is surrounded by water, but at least they are warm and dry inside their house.
This is a picture I took of my feet. I am standing in the flood water, it is about up to my shins with my rubber boots on.
This is some flood water rushing over a small road or driveway - it is hard to get an idea of how fast the water is moving from a still picture, but my camera doesn't do video, so this will have to do!
And here are a few other pictures of the flood.
We thought that when it wasn't raining this morning that the rivers would start to recede, but we'll just have to see. It is now pouring again, so we'll just keep praying that things don't get any worse! Also, people are worried about any wind that might come along and blow down any of our water logged trees. At this point if you lose power it could be a week before it gets back on because they are saying we'll be flooded for a couple days and then its a matter of time until the power crews are able to make it to your neighborhood.
My dad was telling me of a small neighborhood (3-4 homes) and the bridge to their neighborhood washed out. Well, their homeowners insurance doesn't cover the cost of the bridge and it will cost them around $40 K to replace the bridge, and after paying for the bridge once, they don't have the money to pay for it again. So, who knows when those people will be able to get out!
We do hope that all of our family and friends are safe and warm - our prayers are with you!
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