On Tuesday, June 12 th we experienced a flash flood. Although I have spent numerous days canoeing and camping on area rivers, and have seen flash floods first-hand, I was unprepared for how fast the water rose. Here is the story...
The ground was saturated from several small rain events during the past few days. Monday afternoon/evening we received 5 inches of rain. Terrell Branch (our normally dry creek bed) had a few inches of water in it but nothing noteworthy. I remember thinking that I would like to see it come up enough to make the bridge we built start paying for itself. (BIG MISTAKE to tempt the fates with a wish like that!)
I feel asleep to the sound of rain and woke up off and on all night as it continued to rain harder and harder. Around 4 am I looked out the windows and could see the water in the creek - 3 or 4 feet deep now. I told B that we might need to think about moving some stuff up to the barn if it didn't stop raining. I turned on the TV and internet to check radar but it was raining so hard we couldn't get a signal, so I turned on the radio. We were under a flash flood warning with 2 inches of rain falling per hour. Around 5 am I decided to go outside and look at the creek. I didn't get very far out the door before I realized that Terrell Branch was about to come out of its banks and was already 10 feet into the yard.
I ran back into the mobile house and told B that we needed to get some things in the truck and get up to the barn. I was getting worried but figured we had 30 or 45 minutes to get a couple of loads and the animals up to higher ground. B went out to take the skirting off of the trailer so the water could flow under it instead of pushing on it, and I through our financial papers and computers into a laundry basket. Not more than 10 or 15 minutes from the time I had come back into the house, I was carrying the laundry basket out the door and realized that THE WATER WAS ALREADY RUNNING THROUGH THE ENTIRE YARD AND UNDER THE ENTIRE LENGTH TRAILER!
I stepped off the porch into 8 to 10 inches of running water. My worry jumped to extreme concern at this point! I couldn't see B so I began screaming at him to "Come on! Get in the truck! We've got to go NOW!". When he didn't answer my extreme concern became sheer panic! I could envision him loosing his footing and being swept downstream. I screamed louder as I began to go around to the back of the trailer to look for him. I met him coming around the side and by this time the water was coming over the top of my Wellingtons (up to my knees). I told B we needed to get the dogs and cats and get in the f***ing truck NOW! We threw the cats into the cab and the dogs in the bed. I climbed into the bed of the truck I and yelled "GO! GO! GO!".
The amount of time that had passed between my checking the creek and us getting into the truck was not any more than 15 or 20 minutes, yet the water was up to the top of the bumper on our 4x4 Ford F250 and I wasn't sure we were going to make it out.
We did make it and spent the next 3 and 1/2 hours watching as the water rose high enough to push the mobile home off its blocks, break the tie downs, float it 30 feet, smash it into a tree (the tree actually came 3 feet into the living room), sweep away our grill and other outdoor stuff, and then recede back to its banks.
When we got back in, not much had been damaged (besides our home). The tree had saved our belongings from being swept down the creek. With the help of neighbors and friends we were able to get everything out, dried and up to the barn that day.
We spent the next few nights sleeping in the barn before buying a 27 foot travel trailer to live in while we build our house. Construction on the house is going to start SOON!
A couple of people have asked me how I can have such a good attitude about this trauma. All I can say is "It could have been worse". I can't express how fortunate I feel to be alive and to still have those I love. I'm glad we salvaged our belongings, but even if we hadn't, they are just "things". They really don't mean much in the big picture.
"I cannot be discouraged in a world that grows even one blade of grass" - well the grass is sure growing now!
Attached are pics -
The ground was saturated from several small rain events during the past few days. Monday afternoon/evening we received 5 inches of rain. Terrell Branch (our normally dry creek bed) had a few inches of water in it but nothing noteworthy. I remember thinking that I would like to see it come up enough to make the bridge we built start paying for itself. (BIG MISTAKE to tempt the fates with a wish like that!)
I feel asleep to the sound of rain and woke up off and on all night as it continued to rain harder and harder. Around 4 am I looked out the windows and could see the water in the creek - 3 or 4 feet deep now. I told B that we might need to think about moving some stuff up to the barn if it didn't stop raining. I turned on the TV and internet to check radar but it was raining so hard we couldn't get a signal, so I turned on the radio. We were under a flash flood warning with 2 inches of rain falling per hour. Around 5 am I decided to go outside and look at the creek. I didn't get very far out the door before I realized that Terrell Branch was about to come out of its banks and was already 10 feet into the yard.
I ran back into the mobile house and told B that we needed to get some things in the truck and get up to the barn. I was getting worried but figured we had 30 or 45 minutes to get a couple of loads and the animals up to higher ground. B went out to take the skirting off of the trailer so the water could flow under it instead of pushing on it, and I through our financial papers and computers into a laundry basket. Not more than 10 or 15 minutes from the time I had come back into the house, I was carrying the laundry basket out the door and realized that THE WATER WAS ALREADY RUNNING THROUGH THE ENTIRE YARD AND UNDER THE ENTIRE LENGTH TRAILER!
I stepped off the porch into 8 to 10 inches of running water. My worry jumped to extreme concern at this point! I couldn't see B so I began screaming at him to "Come on! Get in the truck! We've got to go NOW!". When he didn't answer my extreme concern became sheer panic! I could envision him loosing his footing and being swept downstream. I screamed louder as I began to go around to the back of the trailer to look for him. I met him coming around the side and by this time the water was coming over the top of my Wellingtons (up to my knees). I told B we needed to get the dogs and cats and get in the f***ing truck NOW! We threw the cats into the cab and the dogs in the bed. I climbed into the bed of the truck I and yelled "GO! GO! GO!".
The amount of time that had passed between my checking the creek and us getting into the truck was not any more than 15 or 20 minutes, yet the water was up to the top of the bumper on our 4x4 Ford F250 and I wasn't sure we were going to make it out.
We did make it and spent the next 3 and 1/2 hours watching as the water rose high enough to push the mobile home off its blocks, break the tie downs, float it 30 feet, smash it into a tree (the tree actually came 3 feet into the living room), sweep away our grill and other outdoor stuff, and then recede back to its banks.
When we got back in, not much had been damaged (besides our home). The tree had saved our belongings from being swept down the creek. With the help of neighbors and friends we were able to get everything out, dried and up to the barn that day.
We spent the next few nights sleeping in the barn before buying a 27 foot travel trailer to live in while we build our house. Construction on the house is going to start SOON!
A couple of people have asked me how I can have such a good attitude about this trauma. All I can say is "It could have been worse". I can't express how fortunate I feel to be alive and to still have those I love. I'm glad we salvaged our belongings, but even if we hadn't, they are just "things". They really don't mean much in the big picture.
"I cannot be discouraged in a world that grows even one blade of grass" - well the grass is sure growing now!
Attached are pics -
Labels: June 12 flood
posted by Country Mama | 11:55 AM
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