Flooding Again

Seems like all I've been doing lately is talk about the weather and today is going to be no exception *grin*.

Yesterday morning when I rolled out of bed just before 8am we went into full on evacuation mode around here as the water started to creep up over the irrigation ditches around our home and into the fields. I was hoping we were going to make it through this year without any flooding but I must have thought it aloud and jinxed myself!

Hubby is busy working up north gathering a log tow up at the head of Knight's Inlet so it was just the kids and I and I wasn't feeling up to staying home alone as the water surrounded us and started to poor into the basement so we started packing. My mom lives next door on higher ground so we gathered clothing, food, toys and crafts to keep us busy, lifted up some of the books that were on the floor along with picture boxes and the computer tower and then I flicked off the main breaker to the house cutting off all electricity in preparation for a lot of water.

We made it down the road that connects between our homes just in time. Only a short while later it was already at least 3 feet deep and I know just how cold that water is when you have to wade through it :(

We were safe and dry but it's not exactly fun to stand on the other side of a brown and raging river and watch it creep closer and closer to your house.

My dad had moved the cow up to higher ground by our chickens so that it would be safe and the girls lost all of their yard to the brown deluge but they were safe and dry as they looked out their door :)

High tide came just as darkness was settling in and we checked the water levels once more before turning in while willing our thoughts to happier things like working on our advent :)

When I woke up this morning the water was gone again just as quickly it seemed as it had come and we found what remained of the four feet of water that had made its way inside our house. My oldest son and my dad pumped out what was left and dry firewood was brought in to try and dry out the woodstove so that I could get the house warm again and tonight we're all tucked back into our own beds again.

Despite all of the sloshing around in my gumboots I'm still doing in the basement it could have been worse and I am so thankful that we are all safe and forging ahead like it never happened. Now I just hope it doesn't do it again at least for a little while *grin*.

Hugs,
Rosina

Not Again!

We have been experiencing heavy rainfall again which isn't totally unusual for us in the winter. So last night I was teasing hubby, asking him if he had his tool kit ready so that he could make a mad dash to the basement and rip the well pump out if we started to flood again. We had a good laugh reminiscing about the last two floods we had in November and thought, nah, we NEVER flood in January and went to bed.

Haha, the joke was on us. Maybe I jinxed us or something but we awoke to the kids yelling that we were flooding! I couldn't believe it. We have never in the 31 years I've lived here flooded after November, but there it was creeping up from all sides around us. It's like a silent stalker that kills in the night!

I madly hurried to finish packaging up parcels from the night before that needed to be shipped to buyers and we sped off to the post office so that we would make it back in to our home before the water got to deep. Above is the main road in town right where our home is. The water was only about a foot deep and headed all the way to the bridge that crosses the river just ahead, but was still rising.

Thankfully after the tide started to fall the water also started receding ever so slightly though. The heavy rain continues to fall and of course under the cloak of darkness we're not sure what will happen tonight but I'm being optimistic. Our basement floor is once again covered with a shallow layer of water, I've moved the car to higher ground and when I awake in the morning I'm hoping to still see the grass *grin*.

~ Rosina

Flooding and the Aftermath

Well my worst fears actually manifested and we flooded!! Monday morning the phone rang at 6:45 am, my mom asking if we had seen all the water and off course we hadn't. It had come up in the middle of the night like a lion and it wasn't planning on slowing down anytime soon. If anything it was just getting started. The above photo was taken around 7:30am when I had a minute to look out my daughter's bedroom window. The river was now running right alongside our home.

As I glanced downward the murky river water was already climbing up the side of our home. The entire road was a hive of activity. You could hear engines roaring, shouting, and vehicles scrambling for a dry spot. Our front yard is really high since it was filled in about 10 years ago with gravel to stop some of the flooding so we ended up with neighbors cars, trucks, campers & quads parked up and down the little stretch of land that was guaranteed or at least should be guaranteed to stay dry. It seemed to have snuck up on all of us and we only had so much time to make preparations for the worst case scenario.

Our first concern was heading down into the basement to disconnect our water pump that pumps the water from our well. It has to be removed because if it is submerged in water it will most definitely not start again :( So hubby raced down the stairs to find that there was already over a foot of water inside the house. His boots barely cleared the top of the water as he frantically looked for tools and shut off valves. By the time he returned less than 30 minutes later the water had cleared his boots and was creeping up past his knees.

My oldest son and I headed outside to salvage bikes that we're already going under, garbage cans that were sure to be set afloat and anything else that we could still make it to, which really wasn't much since the water was already up over the back fields and creeping into our immediate backyard right behind the house. We had just stock piled a bunch of hay for our cows two days before and it was going under :( Dh's ride on lawnmower was past the point of no return and there were countless other pieces of machinery that were already long gone. We retreated indoors to wait. It's very eery to sit inside your home and listen to the water gurgle & rush in through the windows as it attempts to catch up with all of the water just waiting to get in on the outside.

We finally couldn't stand it and had to go outside to see what was going on around us. Our home had become a virtual island as water surrounded us on all sides. Above is the end of our driveway looking towards other homes that were either surrounded or unfortunately filling with the muddy waters.



The only mode of transportation left now was rowboat *grin*.

We eventually got about 6 feet of water in the basement and breathed a big sigh of relief that it wasn't going to come right into our main floor where it would be catastrophic. With the power shut off in most of our home we waited for it to go down.

Eventually by the following morning it was finally only about a foot deep inside and hubby began the process of cleaning up the debris, and trying to pump out the water left behind. Machinery was checked out and started up & damage was assessed.

It was great to see the water rush out through the hoses but unfortunately it is not staying out. With the ground so saturated it returns immediately so we will just have to wait. Eventually we'll get it all out but for now we will have to learn to live with it. The forecast has been for heavy rains but so far we've got snow! Which on one hand is a welcome reprieve from the rain but on the other hand if it warms up to quickly we're looking at a complete repeat of Monday but with an even more dire outcome. I'm not sure what will happen next but I'm hopeful :)

~ Rosina

Flood Watch

(The aftermath of a 2007 flood. Water was finally low enough that we could wade through to the end of our road and see how far the river had receded)

I thought we were going to get lucky and not have to worry about flooding this winter but I guess I was wrong. Historically we have always had heavy rains and the threat of flooding right around November 11th each and every year since I was a little girl and quite often it results in flooding. Sometimes it's minimal and we hardly even notice and other years it hits us hard.

In 2001 we were away the weekend around Nov.11th and it flooded. We returned home to a basement full of water and mud & silt all through our laundry room & garage as it is a few feet lower than the main level of our house. But it didn't stop there. We were hit two more times in a matter of a week!

Flash forward... the raging waters encroached our home again. This time hitting in the middle of the night. By the time we awoke it was nearly to late to escape to higher ground. With my baby on my back in a carrier and my toddler in my arms I waded through thigh high deep water as I made my way to my parents house across the newly formed river where they are high enough on the hill that the water doesn't reach them. You never forget the feeling as you stand on the edge of your yard that has now turned into a full fledged river and watch your house surround with water slowly creeping higher up its walls.

Well here we are 2009 and it's happening again. Mass amounts of rainfall and snow melt are once again causing the river to swell. The pond in our backyard is spilling over the banks and the irrigation ditches around our home are dangerously high. The ground water is coming up and I expect to find water in the basement very soon.

I'm ready no matter what happens. Our clothes are packed so that we're ready to leave if necessary but I'm hoping that it will pass without to much damage.

~ Rosina