BOY did we dodge a bullet! Residents along Bowman's Creek were asked to evacuate at 10:30 last night, so after two hours of loading our vehicles with valuables, paperwork, pictures and the like, we went to higher ground - across the road to a neighbor's! We couldn't go anywhere else since all the roads around us were flooded out and closed. Even our road was flooded, and there were several cars trapped in a washout - poor people slept in their cars!

Apparently a dam upstream was in danger of breaking, which it did, and we had a lot of water come down real fast. The creek rose about 6' from 6-10:30, and another 12'overnight. Several homes along Bowman's Creek were damaged, a couple destroyed. I was so happy to wake up this morning to see ours still standing and undamaged - I'm literally a stone's throw from the creek (and I throw like a girl-LOL) so I consider it a miracle. We lost another foot off our bank. The place next to us didn't fare as well - the foundation wall is badly damaged and it may have to be condemned.

My pond was a little cloudy from all the runoff, and my delphiniums have been beat to the ground by all the rain. I set a bucket in the middle of the yard at 11:00 last night and there was 10" of water in it this morning.

All of my newly acquired transplants have been watered in well!!

Hope all of you are as fortunate as we consider ourselves to be...

M

Thankfully, my neighborhood was not horribly affected by flooding -- we all remain relatively dry, all things considered..
I'm glad to hear you are both OK; I was thinking about the people from the swap when I saw the extensive flooding on the news. (Especially you both, being so close to water!)
Thank God for miracles...
Now, I'm on my way to Media to check on my sister's house -- I've heard the flooding is severe in some parts of the Philadelphia region, and they're on vacation in Russia.(!) I think their house will be Ok, but they just had a great deal of landscaping done -- I hope everything made it! I'm going to bring some plants just in case...
Has anyone heard from the others yet?

Thanks!
Aimee

Glad you both are OK. I thought I had this set up to e-mail me with responses, but I guess I was wrong, glad I checked it today.

I have not heard from anyone since the flooding got bad, Frank should be OK, he is high ground I believe, Vince, I do not know how he did and Tamra I have not heard from either, but I do know it was bad up that a way, as Mischelle can attest!

Gerry

I recently had an email from Tamra, and she weathered the storm OK. However, some others in her family in Noxen did not fare so well, even though they are not in "flood areas." Tamra said the damage in that area is beyond words... : (
I wish there was some way we could help the people affected by the flooding...anyone have any ideas?

Aimee

Hi guys,
I'm high and dry here. The only change was we had my wife's grandmother in with us for a few days as she was evacuated from her house. No problems though, we were lucky!

I was a little worried for Mischelle but then was relived to see she made it through fine.... I saw pictures from Noxen, Wow... the damage was extreme... I don't think floods are something they even suspected would be a problem there. This was one of those unusual weather events.

I don't know what can be done to help, I've heard KRZ is trying to raise money and other donations but that's it. I was up in the back mountain helping some friends clean up today and it's amazing how much water came through some areas. I hope we don't see this again anytime soon.

Glad to hear everyone is ok!
Frank

Hello everyone!

I've been away from the 'puter a couple of days, what with the problems all around me. Helpwise, I think the best thing you can do for the flood vics is to pick a flooded-out home and ask what they need. We've spent the last days cooking meals for neighbors who don't have power or water or are too busy to cook for themselves, helping with clean-up (even doing laundry!), loaning my truck for dump runs. I've been on the phone looking for homes for the people who are now homeless due to their apt building being condemned. (It was a former Inn, 150 years old and never damaged 'til now.)

A neighbor asked me for slips from my garden when she's ready to re-landscape. Her entire yard is under a foot of silt right now. Of course I'll oblige even though I JUST cleaned out all my un-needed plants. Another needs all the sticks, stumps, rocks cleaned out of her yard, so that's where my son has been helping. When he's done with that we're having a load of mulch delivered to replace the mulch they just laid that was carried away.

Everyone on my side of the road needs something different. The only way to know what their needs are is to give them a BIG HUG and ask them. Money and clothes are great, but sometimes all someone needs is a hand.

M