Thursday, September 8, 2011

I Knew I Should Have Built That Ark!

First we got 8 inches from Irene.
Now Lee has dumped days worth of rain on us.
It has not stopped raining here since Sunday.
The forecast is for at least another 5 days of rain.

5 major rivers in PA are at or near flood stage.
1 of them runs through Wilkes-Barre, which is right down the mountain from us.
They say this 'rain event' will cause historic flooding, not seen here since Hurricane Agnes in 1972.
Incidentally, the first time I ever heard of Wilkes-Barre PA growing up in Virginia Beach, VA was in 1972, when I read the local newspaper about the devastating flood caused by that hurricane.
I find it very strange that I ended up in this area in my adult life.
If you would have asked the younger me if I would be living in northeastern PA as a married mother of 3, I would have laughed and called you nuts. ;-)

This place and who I am now was NOT what I had planned for my life.

Yesterday the school buses here had to reroute.  A local stream and lake was over it's banks and on the highway.  The development next door's entrance road was under 3 feet of water from the creek next to it.
Yes you idiot developers, there was a REASON that area had been a wetlands for eons!  Thanks so much for putting a road there and building all those lovely houses in dangers way.....



The Susquehanna is rising fast and there are 5 more days of rain forecast.



They have already put the flood gates up last night, cutting off travel to the grocery store I was planning to go to tomorrow.


The valley below us will be in deep doo doo soon.  There was a big creek flood back in July in a town next to Wilkes-Barre....




Yesterday the regions amusement park got hit too with flooding like they saw in 2006....


Of course that place gets flooded out every few years.  It also saw flooding in March of 2011.
I am assuming another of the local flooding suspects, The Bloomsburg Fair Grounds will be inundated with water from Fishing Creek if it isn't already. (You know it's gonna, right Judy?lol)
I hope they can get it cleaned up by the last week in September for the Bloomsburg Fair.
Bloom Fair is seriously bigtime around here.  Heck, the local kids get excused from school to go to the fair because half the families who are in power around here have food concessions at the fair.
Yes, another symptom of corruption here in the Capital of KIDS FOR CASH LAND......

If y'all don't hear from me for a few days I am just trying to keep my head above water.....LITERALLY!lol

Sluggy in the land of the wet


**UPDATE**
Wilkes-Barre has mandated evacuation by 4pm today for all the areas that flooded in 1972 by Agnes.  That's about 70,000 people living in that area.  There is 1 bridge over the river that is still left open and that has been jammed all day with people trying to get to one side of the river or the other.  Many shelters are opened and the Salvation Army store has been turned into a shelter.  

The river here is at 38.5 feet over flood stage.  It is projected to crest at 42 ft. by tomorrow night.

6 comments:

  1. My sister cant get in or out of berwick right now. Supposedly they are closing the bridge from nescopeck to berwick. And if I miss that fair I will be cranky....sigh


    Judy

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  2. LOL and I know what families and soooooooooooooooooooo agree.


    Judy

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  3. Judy--Yah, you KNOW what I'm talking about!LOLOL
    The fair should go on as planned....as long as they get the mud cleaned up in the next 2 weeks.

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  4. I hear ya girl! We're in the same "boat" here. And one block from the Susquehanna is a little scary right now.
    Keep safe! m.

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  5. Maybe the developer should have built arks instead of houses.Yes, they are called flood plains for a reason.Is your home safe from threat?

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  6. It's been way wet enough here in Central PA, but I can't imagine how much "fun" it's been over your way! Yikes!!! Stay safe (and dry), everyone.

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