Thursday, January 8, 2009

More flooding

We went out today and even after what we saw yesterday we were surprised to see how high the dyke's were
I had to take this picture from afar as they had just shut off downtown because the dyke's were about to break. Anyway, earlier we went to the dyke and saw this (usually fields and a road there)See that stop sign! There's also a Park and Ride under there. This is mainly farmland but its right on the edge of downtown.




Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Floods!

We had a really nice Christmas. Everyone was happy with their gifts, we had lots of great food and a really relaxing holiday from the hustle and bustle of normal life. The weather made things difficult up until about New Year. The snow and icy conditions made travelling a problem and we had no trash pickup for two weeks, amongst other inconveniences.
Now.....well, we are flooded. There are flood warnings for most of Western Washington. The whole region has been affected by the days and days of rain (with no end to the rain in sight) with flooding said to be the worst on record. Roads are being closed, thousands evacuated and the all the schools are closed too. All the mountain passes are closed because of the extreme weather and avalanche risks. We went for some groceries today and driving home we saw lots of flooded roads and houses surrounded by water. We have many rivers here and they are breaching their banks. Its hard to tell where the rivers are in the huge expanses of water. Even the smallest creeks are overflowing and causing damage. Tonight I took 13 year old to help his church Scout Troop sandbag downtown near one of the senior centres. As I drove past I saw buses being loaded with the poor seniors who are being evacuated to the High School. We are lucky as we are on high ground but half the town and most of the farms are on flat, low ground and if they aren't water logged yet they soon will be. So I count my blessings as I sit with a hot drink in my comfortable, warm, dry house.

*Meanwhile wildfires are causing problems in Colorado. What an amazing world we live in. It certainly isn't boring.