Flooding

[Moemg]

I hope all of our members are okay and not being affected by the floods . We have not heard from Goonie in a while .

 

[lazygood4nothinbum]

i'll second that. good luck to them all.

 

[maddythebeagle]

I was in the Wisconsin Dells at a business trip on the Wisconsin River before the flooding and then down to Milwaukee when they got several inches of rain and then back home on I-90/94 before it got closed in several sections....that is my flood adventure The small creek behind my sister's apartment was a wild river and flooded a few lower buildings...

 

[Texas Proud]

I wonder if there was someone who lived in New Orleans and said... the heck with this... I am moving up to Iowa so I don't have to deal with a flood anymore....

Wouldn't that be ironic?

 

[Goonie]

I hope all of our members are okay and not being affected by the floods . We have not heard from Goonie in a while .

Thanks for thinking about me! We're High & Dry, and we could actually use a little rain! I've been busy out in the gardens and doing some landscaping, and also taking a few day trips......went for a cruise on Lake Michigan today (Thurs.) from Navy Pier in Chicago and enjoyed the beautiful weather and good food!!!

We haven't had any flooding problems here at all. All the water from the Chain-O-Lakes and and the upper Fox River flow down through here to the Illinois River, but the Fox is naturally wider and deeper here, so it can handle the excess. Besides, even if the Fox goes over it's banks here it's no big deal.....there was a gubmint buyout back in the mid-90's and everyone sold their flood-prone houses and headed for higher ground. There are several areas that flood here....and always have. And the IL River here is still quite a ways below flood stage.....the Army Corps of Engineers keeps the river levels in check, by adjusting the gates of the dams. Most our town is a lot higher than even the 500 year flood level, so really the only place along the IL River that floods is our river front park on the south bank.....and that normally happens at least 2 or 3 times a year as it's only 3.5 feet above normal river level. Before ER, I worked downstream next to the park for 30+ years, but the facility was quite a bit higher than the park, plus we had a 20+ ft dike around it.

 

[aaronc879]

I got lucky this time around. 15 miles to the south was a whole nother story. Several feet of standing water, flooded basements, stranded cars. I'm glad I was off work that night as the whole parking lot was under water and by the time people realized it, the inside of their cars were soaked. FEMA just granted my county with federal benefits. Driving thru some neighborhoods it looks like a landfill with all the piles of garbage from people emptying their flooded basements. City officials say it'll take months to clean up all the garbage. People are getting sick from being in the water because there's sewer back-up mixed in with it.

 

[W2R]

Goonie and Aaron, glad to read that you are both OK and not flooded! Frank and I have been watching the footage on TV and it's like deja vu... pretty awful and we hope for nothing but the best for those in flooded areas.

And yes, it did make us think since we had seriously considered those areas as being excellent ones to move to (but finally ruled them out as being colder than necessary for us). How dreadful it must be for other New Orleanians that settled there after our diaspora.

 

[FinanceDude]

We got 12 inches of rain in 6 days, but luckily for me, I live on the top of a hill with no creek nearby.

Our local golf course is flooded but the water is receding quickly.......

Some pockets of the Dells are got 20+ inches of rain in 48 hours...........

 

[Alec-Eldifrawi]

I'm glad it dosn't flood where i live.

 

[happy2bretired]

I'm in Nebraska. We have had more than enough rain and storms for awhile with plenty of tornado activity. So far, knock on wood, everything is dry around my house. No basement water problems either...whew.

 

[Brat]

My father worked for the COE back when they were constructing flood control systems. He would would be almost 100, were he still alive. I teethed on a slide rule and when I was old enough to ask what he did at the office he gave me an education in hydrology. Late in his life he would go almost ballistic when he reviewed the condition of the dike systems he helped design. Before sliding into dementia he made me promise not to EVER buy land in the lower Mississippi system, particularly New Orleans.

Bottom line: when you slow down the current there is greater siltation so reservoirs and water ways must be dredged else the surge capacity of the flood control system will be seriously diminished.

These systems were designed for 500 year conditions, as they knew them. IMHO development, weather, and lack of maintenance will put many now urban areas at risk. Many farm lands should flood at least once every 100 years to replenish the soil. It is very difficult for State and County governments to prohibit development in areas subject to rare flooding. All I can say is that no business should locate mission critical activities in those areas.

I feel the pain for the businesses, residents, and communities impacted by the flooding. I just wish you had known enough to avoid that risk.

 

[FinanceDude]

My father worked for the COE back when they were constructing flood control systems. He would would be almost 100, were he still alive. I teethed on a slide rule and when I was old enough to ask what he did at the office he gave me an education in hydrology. Late in his life he would go almost ballistic when he reviewed the condition of the dike systems he helped design. Before sliding into dementia he made me promise not to EVER buy land in the lower Mississippi system, particularly New Orleans.

just wish you had known enough to avoid that risk.[/quote]

I lived in La Crosse, Wisconsin for a number of years, so I know all about flooding. During the flooding of 1993, a national reporter was interviewing a hydrologist in Cairo Illinois, where the water was moving at a current of 5 mph. The reporter remarked how peaceful the river looked, and asked what was going on down at the bottom of the river, and the hydrologist replied: "Well, based upon the volume, there's boulders the size of small cars tumbling end over end"...........

 

[Goonie]

I feel the pain for the businesses, residents, and communities impacted by the flooding. I just wish you had known enough to avoid that risk.

Those of us that have been born & raised in river towns are usually aware of the fact that the rivers and their tributaries will do exactly as they darn well please. And though we may be able to do some things to avert and/or alleviate some of the associated flooding problems, we also know and realize that "Old Man River" is, and always will be, the "Man In-Charge" and will ALWAYS have the ultimate say so!

The same may be said for ANY natural water-course.....even those low spots and dry creek beds out in the agricultural fields.....when it rains, they fill up with water....always have....always will. Then in comes some [-]money grubbing[/-], [-]sleazeball[/-] out-of-town developer who buys up a chunk of [-]flood prone[/-] beautiful river front property, or hundred of acres of low lying ag fields, and he builds gorgeous EXPENSIVE houses for the unsuspecting and unknowing folks to buy. Then Old Man River takes a vacation from his banks, or the rain gods THOROUGHLY water the ag fields, and those gorgeous, EXPENSIVE houses take up scuba diving.....along with their owners' treasures.

I worked for the local municipality for 30+ years in the field of wastewater & sewage, and every year we handled more and more calls from disgruntled homeowners who had been introduced (very unceremoniously) to the tricks of Old Man River and/or the rain gods. Every year the number of calls increased, because every year the number of new houses and new subdivisions increased. And unfortunately, most of the homeowners didn't ask questions or check into the possibility of flooding. In over 30 years, I only ever had a very small handful of people ask about the possibility of potential water problems. We had documentation of flood prone areas around town, and areas that experienced problems do to over active rain gods. All folks had to do was ask and we'd gladly tell them where to watch out for because, unlike the developers, we had no vested interest in where they wanted to build their dream home.

Last August, there was one [-]low lying agricultural field[/-] fairly upscale subdivision (completely built & occupied except for the very last building lot which was about 1/2 complete) that was inundated by the rain gods with about 10" of rain that weekend. Being the lowest area around, it suddenly became a huge retention pond.

The advice from us born-n-bred river rats......play in and along the water all you please.......but build your shack where it'll stay high & dry! Oh yeah, and don't build your shack in a low lying ag field!

 

[Brat]

There are a couple more decisions by the building code folks that get this old woman's blood boiling: not paying attention to the importance of permeable surface, aka, impermeable paving is not the perfect solution to storm water management - cobblestones are great paving for urban sidestreets; requiring homes on a slope to connect down spouts to on-site dry wells (the resultant land slides cannot be insured against).

One of the reasons why "100 year" floods are happening every 15 years is that the ratio of permiable to impermiable surfaces has changed drastically.

 

[bow-tie]

Eeastern Iowa got a thorough butt-kicking by the Cedar, Iowa, well, almost every river. It was an unbelievable sight to behold. The downtown area of Cedar Rapids is in tough shape. Now that the water is gone, the real work begins. It's worrisome to think of the businesses and home owners who were left with nothing... imagine making payments on a house that should now be knocked down.

 

[Zoocat]

It's a nightmare. Has there been any comparison on the news of the Katrina flooding vs this one in terms of people displaced? Maybe it's too soon to tell. Anyway, my sympathies go out to all who are affected.

 

[Moemg]

Several of my relatives lost their houses in the Wilkes Barre floods many years ago . It was awful to see the devastation water can do . My heart goes out to all the people affected by this tradegy.

 

[unclemick]

Those of us that have been born & raised in river towns are usually aware of the fact that the rivers and their tributaries will do exactly as they darn well please. And though we may be able to do some things to avert and/or alleviate some of the associated flooding problems, we also know and realize that "Old Man River" is, and always will be, the "Man In-Charge" and will ALWAYS have the ultimate say so!

The advice from us born-n-bred river rats......play in and along the water all you please.......but build your shack where it'll stay high & dry! Oh yeah, and don't build your shack in a low lying ag field!

My birthplace (shipyard housing) went in the flood of 48. Grew up on the Colombia - Portland and downriver on the Washington side. 30 yrs in New Orleans.

Live on a hill(big hill) Missouri side where I can look across the wide Missouri and wave at 'flat' Kansas.



heh heh heh -

 

[Goonie]

.....30 yrs in New Orleans.

Live on a hill(big hill) Missouri side where I can look across the wide Missouri and wave at 'flat' Kansas.



heh heh heh -

My sister lived in NOLA for almost 35 years, then moved to [-]the Land of Oz[/-] Kansas after Katrina.....her home was totally unscathed by Katrina or it's side effects. Now she doesn't have to worry about hurricanes and flooding.......just tornadoes, dust storms, hail storms, wind storms, ice storms, heavy rain, and blizzards. Makes Kansas sound almost as alluring as TX.

 

[ziggy29]

My sister lived in NOLA for almost 35 years, then moved to [-]the Land of Oz[/-] Kansas after Katrina.....her home was totally unscathed by Katrina or it's side effects. Now she doesn't have to worry about hurricanes and flooding.......just tornadoes, dust storms, hail storms, wind storms, ice storms, heavy rain, and blizzards. Makes Kansas sound almost as alluring as TX.

Speaking of TX, do y'all think you can build a nice, fat pipeline to drain all your excess water down here?

 

[unclemick]

My sister lived in NOLA for almost 35 years, then moved to [-]the Land of Oz[/-] Kansas after Katrina.....her home was totally unscathed by Katrina or it's side effects. Now she doesn't have to worry about hurricanes and flooding.......just tornadoes, dust storms, hail storms, wind storms, ice storms, heavy rain, and blizzards. Makes Kansas sound almost as alluring as TX.

Light hail last night - still entertainment. After X years - then that stuff becomes a pain in the butt.

Probably would draw the line at a tornado though - much rather watch THAT on tv.

heh heh heh -

 

[Brat]

UncleMick, I remember the VanPort Flood! I was about 6 yoa, living in Guilds Lake military housing at the time. Dad worked for the COE and was patrolling the dikes at the time they broke. He was away from home for weeks.

Much to the dismay of some residents the Corp required that trees growing on the dikes be removed last year. The (name your descriptor) planners allowed retail development on the same site as your former home, and there are hotels and condos on the south side of the dike. Idiots!!

 

[dm]

The river is cresting here today. It is cresting lower here than previously predicted due to the levee's breaking north of us. The town wildlife area is flooded and the marina.

 

[dm]

The road to the yacht club and another bar is closed!!. We still have one left though.

My house is still high and dry though. Here is a pic of my house and a view of the river bluffs from my front porch.

 

[bbbamI]

That's a gorgeous house dm!