Spring Floods Hit My Hometown

@debrakcarey (19887)
United States
April 25, 2011 10:18pm CST
I live in south central southern Missouri. We've been hit by one weather front after another this last four days. Right now we have had upwards towards a foot of rain fall since last Friday night. My house, thankfully is on a slight rise and now looks like its on an island. Our dogs are scared to go outside. The man made pond across the road is about to wash over its banks and we've joked at least we'll have easy pickens on the catfish floppin in the road! Here in Missouri there is limestone karst under a thin layer of red clay. It's why the region is so famous for caves and underground rivers and springs. but it also makes us vulnerable to flooding as it does not absorb heavy rainfall very quickly. Well, one of those rivers must have come up from below ground and is taking my backyard with it as it flows past us and then across the road to the newly stocked catfish pond. We are literally surrounded by water this evening. The school bus that my grandson rides was an hour late and he said they had to turn around several times and the bus driver was going to take some of the kids back to the school because he couldn't get within a mile of their homes. My newly planted garden is washed out. I couldn't get to work today and barely made it home from work last night. The county road (red clay & gravel) was washed away in places and when I turned around to take a different route I found low water bridges (concrete poured over a low spot)that were impassable due to high water. I normally drive about fifteen minutes to get to our house, I was an hour getting home and had to take some pretty scary risks to do so. The red cross is coming to access damage to the roads and infrastructure in town from Friday nights flood and we are facing more rain until about the middle of this week. Several business were effected, a lumbar company's stacks were floating and a fence washed out that surrounded it. Boats were used to collect the valuable lumber I'm told. My middle son called and said he saw a bridge in town that was damaged. Propane tanks floated off their pedestals. Cars stalled all over town when they tried to go through flooded areas. How's it been for you this spring, anything exciting going on? If you have a boat, come on by. We're counting on those catfish getting washed free and are planning a barbeque as soon as the sun comes out again! And what's your spring been like so far?
8 people like this
10 responses
@carmelanirel (20942)
• United States
26 Apr 11
I don't know how the rest of the county looks, but we also have had rain for days and still expecting more. I get notifications from our local news and I get a flash flood warning at least once a day. But where I live, only the street down by the mailbox and a strip in our front yard gets flooded..I took pictures yesterday, but didn't have time to upload them..I'll do that today..:)
@debrakcarey (19887)
• United States
26 Apr 11
It seems like the storm front steches from Louisiana to Lake Michagan! More rain today? I haven't the heart to look yet.
5 people like this
• United States
26 Apr 11
Yep, I am in Ohio and just saw the radar; if you don't want to look, at least keep your umbrella ready..
@debrakcarey (19887)
• United States
26 Apr 11
The sun is out and birds are singing. Do I have to look? I will be leaving for work in a few hours, if it rains again I won't make it home. My son's girlfriend says the roads are all soggy and in some places washed out so bad she had trouble in a pickup! but if I don't go to work....
5 people like this
• United States
27 Apr 11
I live in St.Louis City and our spring so far has been kind of severe. We've been hit by so far three tornadoes since the spring started. North St.Louis county got hit by an EF4 Friday night while I was out with my sister and some friends. Two days before that it was severe thunderstorms with the chance of a small isolated tornado. So pretty much our spring here in St.Louis has been kind of rough. Today it's sunny so were getting a break today I suppose.
@debrakcarey (19887)
• United States
27 Apr 11
I heard about the one at the airport. Tornados really scare me. One blew out the windows when I was a five year old and since then I go hide when there's reports of any. Makes it difficult at work...I have to keep residents safe and calm them down. Somehow I manage to do what I have to do.
2 people like this
• United States
27 Apr 11
I'm scared of them, too. I don't know why though. My grandmother however was found in a closet when she was young way back in the 20's or 30's, I forgot. She was found in a closet holding my uncle who just a baby. When the storm was over the only thing that was standing was the closet door. She was more scared of them than I am.
• United States
28 Apr 11
Thanks, so much. They are not alive anymore, but thank you for your kind words.
@dragon54u (31636)
• United States
26 Apr 11
I hope everything goes okay at your house! Do you have extra food, water, etc to last you till the water goes down? I have a friend in Poplar Bluff where a levee was in danger of being breached, his pastor's house was 100 yards from the water and I haven't heard any news today. I'm much better off than most people this Spring. Although we've had the second wettest Spring on record and may surpass the #1 spot, there's no flooding where I am. I chose my neighborhood with floods in mind since I remember our basement being flooded when I was a child and it was awful. There's a lot of water running down the streets when it rains hard but at least the sewers are running well and carrying the water off. I hope the best for you.
@dragon54u (31636)
• United States
26 Apr 11
Yes, the tornado was really weird. It made me think at the time of what you posted later, about the signs of the end times--along, just weird, but with everything else added in it's thought provoking.
@debrakcarey (19887)
• United States
26 Apr 11
I remember watching a disaster movie that showed a super tornado hitting a metro area. Are they playing with our weather and calling it global warming? There are some who think so. I don't have the technology to check out the 'proof'. But I do wonder.... No where in the Bible does it say that mankind does not bring the disasters on himself.
3 people like this
@debrakcarey (19887)
• United States
26 Apr 11
Thank you, we are ok as far as food. We have a septic tank and things were gurggeling yesterday. I am most sad about my garden. I hope it will survive. I always say it's tornados that bother me the most. But this is creepy too. A few years ago we had worse flooding. But I lived in a different house and everything was fine there except when I had to go to work. This is a new experience for me. I hope we don't have more rain today. And I hope the levees in Poplar Bluff don't go. I heard there was a tornado at the St. Louis airport end of last week when this all started, that is freaky too. A tornado in St. Louis?
4 people like this
@1hopefulman (45123)
• Canada
26 Apr 11
Sorry to hear that! Here too we've had quite a bit of rain this month(April), the water level of the nearby river is high and in some spots the levee has been breached but nothing too serious so far.
@1hopefulman (45123)
• Canada
29 Apr 11
I saw the news about the devastation caused by the tornadoes. Very sad that so many lives were lost.
@debrakcarey (19887)
• United States
26 Apr 11
At least the wells will be full! Trying to look on the bright side. There has been some property damage, and of course tornados have devestated areas close by. Viola, Ark. is less than 30 minutes from here. I just pray for everyone's safety....so take care where ever you are! And thank you for your concern.
3 people like this
• United States
26 Apr 11
Sorry to hear that!! I hope you and everyone there is okay and the dogs I meant that when I said everyone I consider pets people too. We have had a lot of crazy weather here in Texas Flooding, Tornadoes, high winds knocking down trees, just a mess Haven't seen the sun in a while. But luckily the area I am in nothing major but very close to home. My prayers are with all of you out there in the mess that mother nature has left us with! This seems like it is storming everyday here now in Texas, I wish the sun would return! Take Care!
• United States
27 Apr 11
Awww How you are right poor baby! Stay safe out there too!
@debrakcarey (19887)
• United States
27 Apr 11
I pray for everyone's safety as well. We have got another thunderstorm over us as I type at 9:27p It is raining very hard but no wind. I wish the sun would return too! Our dogs have learned to go pee real fast! out for less than a second and right back in! Our black lab is terrified of thunder and stays under the bed or behind the couch. Poor baby. stay dry and stay safe!
3 people like this
@allknowing (130066)
• India
27 Apr 11
Jack fruit - unseasonal yield - Fruit trees are behaving oddly due to unseasonal weather
Unseasonal weather is playing havoc with our fruit trees. Some have yielded at wrong times and some have not yielded at all. This is pretty odd. Our jack fruits will be ready when it will be pouring when it will not be fit for eating
@debrakcarey (19887)
• United States
29 Apr 11
Never heard of jack fruits, what are they? sounds interesting.
1 person likes this
@debrakcarey (19887)
• United States
29 Apr 11
They're pretty, what do they taste like?
1 person likes this
@allknowing (130066)
• India
29 Apr 11
Jack Fruit segments - Jack Fruit segments are tasty when ripe They also also cooked when raw along with the seeds that are inside the segment
Here is an image of what lies inside the Jack fruit which is edible. And in each segment there is a seed which also is used in curries and eaten boiled with a bit of salt. My earlier response has an image of the tree with the fruits
@buenavida (9985)
• Sweden
28 Apr 11
I hope you are safe and that things will be normal soon. Our spring flood comes in next month usually, but the weather has been warm, so who knows. I keep looking at the river between Finland and Sweden and part of it is ice free. One year in the 80s it was rather exciting. The ice and high water took some houses with it - one woman told that she had seen the ice floating down with some furniture on it and after a while came a wooden floor and then the rest of the house. But things like that happen very rarely. Well, we too have to build on higher places, not too close to the river.. Hope you are all right...
@debrakcarey (19887)
• United States
29 Apr 11
Thank you buenavida. Right now its calm, but more rain on the weekend. Its hard for me to fathom still having ice at this time of year. I used to live in North West Iowa, in the USA, and we did have a blizzard once on May 1st. That is why I moved back south.
1 person likes this
@cher913 (25782)
• Canada
26 Apr 11
its been cold and rainy here where i live in southern ontario, canada. we had friends who used to live in Morris, Manitoba and would get flooded out by the Red River almost every year.
@debrakcarey (19887)
• United States
27 Apr 11
I bet it is beautiful up there. I've always wanted to see Canada. Except I cannot take the cold, so it would have to be in summer.
2 people like this
@cream97 (29087)
• United States
26 Apr 11
Hi. debrakcarey. I am sorry that you had a terrible flood where you live at. We have had some rain lately in the city that I live in. It rained today really badly. Twice that is. Then on top of that, we had rain last Friday too. So we have been having rain and then it has been clearing up some. It is 75 degrees outside now. It is sunny. The weather here is very strange. One minute it is nice, then the next minute it is stormy and cloudy. I hope that the flood clears up where you live at. I am sure that it must be very hard for you all to get around and get many things done with all of the rainy puddles in the way. I hope that you will stay safe and take care. May God be with you, to get you through this situation.
@debrakcarey (19887)
• United States
27 Apr 11
Thank you cream97, Its raining once more and thundering loud. I had to run into the house from the car and still got soaked. Perhaps this all means we'll have a very GREEN summer.
3 people like this
• Canada
30 Apr 11
We're getting the edges of the bad weather that you guys are getting. We've just had to deal with strange days where it goes from sunny to a blizzard so thick you can't see your hand in front of your face to sunny and warm again, to raining, to sleet and back to the blizzard. That's a little scary--what you're dealing with! Hope you and yours continue to be safe and sound.
@debrakcarey (19887)
• United States
30 Apr 11
I hope the same for you, thanks.
1 person likes this