Two weeks since the deluge of mid March and we are under siege again. We got about two inches of rain today and 4 or 5 more are predicted over night. The basement is wet (again) in spots but so far no deep water, and not much to get spoiled this time. My main concern is not losing power or heat again.
The weather guys are saying that this year we will beat the record for the rainiest March since 1952. I find this mildly comforting. If it is a 50 year event, I will not have to waste my remaining days on this earth trying to be ready for the next one.
The rainiest month on record in these parts is August 1955, when two hurricanes hit the Northeast within 5 days. Hurricane Connie dropped about 6 inches of rain and 5 days later it was Diane which left an additional 13 inches of rain. There was massive flooding and scores of storm caused deaths. I was 13 when that storm hit, and I remember everyone got water in the basement, the electricity was off for days due to trees being blown on power lines. I recall playing Monopoly and Scrabble with my siblings by candlelight drinking warm coke and eating popcorn (the gas stayed on, so you could still cook).
Speaking of records, my old collection of LP's were underwater during the deluge and the covers are destroyed. I decided to toss them since I haven't played on in about 5 years and do not even have a working record player anymore since digital CD's replaced the vinyl. Still, I liked having them and looking at the covers from time to time. Good memories gone to the landfill to be forgotten again.
We shall not see their like again.
3/30/2010
3/19/2010
Water Woes - Continuing Saga
Mother Nature curse you! We had to cancel our St Patty's Day plans to mop-up. My version of the wearin of the green was my flood/fishing outfit.
It's been 4 days since the rain stopped, and groundwater is still welling-up in the basement. I have 2 pumps going to try to stay ahead of the subterranean tide.
Starting to dry-out a bit, but the clean-up will take many days (and many trips to the dump).
People have been helpful. Thanks to the Fire Dept for loaning me an industrial strength pump to get rid of most of the water. Thanks also to my water savvy friend who loaned me the 2 pumps I am running now. One neighbor stopped by yesterday with two big fans and a nice bottle of Chardonnay.
Perhaps she was impressed by the sight of me in my hip waders.
Perhaps she was impressed by the sight of me in my hip waders.
We got the heat back on yesterday, but still no hot water.
Hoping to see a plumber today...
3/17/2010
The Weight of Water
In the play Julius Caesar, there is a minor character known as the soothsayer who walks through a scene or two before the (Spoiler alert) brutal stabbing of the Emperor, shouting "Beware the Ides of March."
I wish somebody had warned me that Mother nature would be stabbing me in the back, on the 15th. I might have been better prepared for the deluge. Then, again, like Caesar, I might have regarded the matter as fated by the gods. I'm picturing the musical version with Caesar singing "Que sera sera"in the first act.
The only amusing sight that morning was watching the cat try to use a floating litter box. Ok, not really that funny. The litter stayed dry but the cat got really wet. I hope he was not too traumatized.
Fearing the worst, we shut everything down that had a motor. This included the gas heating system and the downstairs refrigerator. The water extinguished the pilot light in the water heater (on Monday) and we have had no hot water since then. My wife went to our daughter's for her shower today. I believe an icy shower builds character. Plus, I notice that it takes much less time for a cold shower.
Did you know that unless you have specific flood insurance, your normal homeowners policy does not cover damage from rising waters?
As far as I can tell, we are the only house with a flooded basement in our neighborhood. Our nice flat lot seems to be a perfect storm drain. My wife blames it on all the building activity upstream - oops I mean: up the hill from us. Possibly, but then again we haven't had 8-10 inches of rain fall in such a short time for the past 20 odd years. So, maybe the perfect storm will never happen again. At least not in our lifetimes.
Despite these (manageable) hardships, we felt somewhat fortunate, compared to the devastating losses you see on the nightly TV news from all manner of catastrophe. Thousands of people got hit much worse in this storm. People with finished basements, people whose toilets have backed up and filled the house with sewage (our flood is from high ground water, not runoff or backups). Down hill from us there are people who live near the Charles River bank, only a few feet above the current river level - which is at flood stage. Their basements must be swimming pools.
We have been luck that the days have been springlike, so the no-heat situation is tolerable. Forecast for today is a balmy 70 degrees. We were fortunate that water never got high enough to short out the electrical system. So we have lights and power to run pumps.
Not being soothsayers, the future is not ours to see, but we remain resolute in our fight against the tides of fate. The stuff that was drenched will be tossed and soon forgotten. The beer refrigerator will dry out and be returned to service. I will bathe again in warm water. We shall overcome.
I wish somebody had warned me that Mother nature would be stabbing me in the back, on the 15th. I might have been better prepared for the deluge. Then, again, like Caesar, I might have regarded the matter as fated by the gods. I'm picturing the musical version with Caesar singing "Que sera sera"in the first act.
After 23 years in this house without a significant water event, the torrential rains of March 12th, 13th and 14th added to an already saturated terra firma (or should we say terra squishy) and a higher than normal water table. By the morning of the 15th we had at least 6 inches of water in the basement. Everything below that height was drenched. Rugs, luggage, pictures, records (both paper and vinyl), books, cardboard boxes full of treasures. The interesting thing about cardboard is that it loses it's rigidity when it gets wet, so if you had stuff piled on top of a cardboard box, that stuff was likely to end-up in the water. Another thing I would not have predicted: if you pile stuff on top of a plastic bin, and the bin becomes buoyant, it will become top heavy and dump the stuff into the water. The same principle applies to a paper shredder.
The only amusing sight that morning was watching the cat try to use a floating litter box. Ok, not really that funny. The litter stayed dry but the cat got really wet. I hope he was not too traumatized.
Fearing the worst, we shut everything down that had a motor. This included the gas heating system and the downstairs refrigerator. The water extinguished the pilot light in the water heater (on Monday) and we have had no hot water since then. My wife went to our daughter's for her shower today. I believe an icy shower builds character. Plus, I notice that it takes much less time for a cold shower.
Did you know that unless you have specific flood insurance, your normal homeowners policy does not cover damage from rising waters?
As far as I can tell, we are the only house with a flooded basement in our neighborhood. Our nice flat lot seems to be a perfect storm drain. My wife blames it on all the building activity upstream - oops I mean: up the hill from us. Possibly, but then again we haven't had 8-10 inches of rain fall in such a short time for the past 20 odd years. So, maybe the perfect storm will never happen again. At least not in our lifetimes.
Despite these (manageable) hardships, we felt somewhat fortunate, compared to the devastating losses you see on the nightly TV news from all manner of catastrophe. Thousands of people got hit much worse in this storm. People with finished basements, people whose toilets have backed up and filled the house with sewage (our flood is from high ground water, not runoff or backups). Down hill from us there are people who live near the Charles River bank, only a few feet above the current river level - which is at flood stage. Their basements must be swimming pools.
We have been luck that the days have been springlike, so the no-heat situation is tolerable. Forecast for today is a balmy 70 degrees. We were fortunate that water never got high enough to short out the electrical system. So we have lights and power to run pumps.
Not being soothsayers, the future is not ours to see, but we remain resolute in our fight against the tides of fate. The stuff that was drenched will be tossed and soon forgotten. The beer refrigerator will dry out and be returned to service. I will bathe again in warm water. We shall overcome.
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