Which came first...detachment or loss??? Friday, August 26, 2011 to Sunday, August 28, 2011
The day before Hurricane Irene hit NJ, Friday, August 26, 2011, I had a job interview at the United Nations. I was so nervous about the interview that I was only half nervous about the hurricane. Back in 2007 and 2010 our neighborhood experienced "major flooding" after getting only 5" of rain in a 24-hour period. During both storms the neighborhood was flooded, the water came within inches of touching our foundation and we got 8" of water in our basement through seepage. Hurricane Irene was forecasted to dump up to 12" of rain in less time. We knew that this storm was going to be a game changer.
Friday, August 26, 2011 was also the last day of our Volkswagen Jetta. The car was on its last leg and since I was going into NYC, Friday morning I drove the Mini Cooper and Fred took the Jetta. He drove the VW from our driveway - which in three days would be under 5' of water - to the parking lot of his office and there it died. The Jetta would not turn over anymore. Being awesome, Fred didn't tell me about the car until after I came back from the UN. We were now facing this storm with one car - something we hadn't done before.
We weren't sure what the river would do and not wanting to stay in the house during the storm, Saturday night August 27, 2011 we gathered the dogs and had a sleep over at the Mr. PC office. Still in Lincoln Park, but not by water, we spent the night with the dogs in a windowless concrete block building and couldn't hear a thing. We couldn't hear the wind or the rain, we had power the entire night and the only indication that there was a storm, besides that we were sleeping at the shop, was the news and weather reports on the radio and Internet.
We received about 12" of rain from the storm. As usual after the rain, came the flood. It took about 24 hours, enough time for us to prepare, and then the rivers overflowed their banks, the water overtook the neighborhood, completely filled our basement and then got into the first floor.
On Sunday, August 28, 2011 during that 24 hours, when preparing for the water to come, our stuff went into three categories: 1) what we could/should bring upstairs 2) what we could/should put on top of other things that we hoped wouldn't get ruined by the water and 3) what we could lose. Realistically we thought we could lose it all. Inside the house we put things up 18" from the floor. We put the dining room table chairs upstairs, the computer and technology stuff on our desks and we rested the couch on the coffee table.
The garage was a different story. It is detached and about two feet lower than the house. During normal "major" floods we would get about 2.5' of water in the garage, so we tried to put things at least 4' up off the ground but that wasn't high enough. At the height of the flood we had at least 5' of water in the garage. Twice as much water as the most we've ever had.
Like before, we were going to bring the dogs to my mom's house to stay during the flood. This time we were not sure what to expect so we decided to not stay there either. I packed all of the dogs and a few days of casual clothes in the Mini and drove to Marie's. I borrowed her car to bring the dogs to my mother's house. The tires on the Mini were bald - lesson learned: if you need them, get your new tires today because tomorrow there might be a hurricane and major flood and you might have to evacuate. Fred stayed behind to tie up some loose ends at the house and wait for me to come back and pick him up.
On Sunday, August 28, 2011 at 5pm we were placed under a mandatory evacuation and had to leave the house. This was another first for us. Our neighborhood had only ever had voluntary evacuations, but this one was mandatory. Without hesitation Anne Marie went and picked up Fred at the house since I was still on the road to my mom's. After moving and evaluating all of our stuff and reconciling with the possibility that we could lose it all, he packed three days worth of work clothes, our Nespresso coffee machine and Nespresso coffee capsules and headed out.
Hurricane Irene delivered "historic" flooding to Lincoln Park and the surrounding area. No house in our neighborhood was spared; 9 houses suffered foundation collapses and some houses closer to the river had completely submerged 1st floors and water touching the 2nd floors. People who had just finished rebuilding from the previous floods were devastated again.
In some places in our house, the water went as high as 12" on the first floor. In other places, like the corner of the kitchen with the washer and dryer, we had only 3" of water. Thank God for an uneven house. My sister is now using the washer and dryer. We lost almost everything in the garage, including books and the crystal punch bowl, but we were prepared for this possibility and had already detached ourselves from these things. During the height of the flood our backyard was completely covered in about a foot of water and we lost all but one of our fish in our pond. According to our neighbors, a flood like this had never happened before.
About one week after Hurricane Irene came, Tropical Storm Lee passed through. Thanks to Lee, the flood water from Irene, which under "normal" flooding conditions could take 3-5 days to recede, came back up to "major flood" level.
It would take almost two weeks to get into the house and begin to assess the damage...
The day before Hurricane Irene hit NJ, Friday, August 26, 2011, I had a job interview at the United Nations. I was so nervous about the interview that I was only half nervous about the hurricane. Back in 2007 and 2010 our neighborhood experienced "major flooding" after getting only 5" of rain in a 24-hour period. During both storms the neighborhood was flooded, the water came within inches of touching our foundation and we got 8" of water in our basement through seepage. Hurricane Irene was forecasted to dump up to 12" of rain in less time. We knew that this storm was going to be a game changer.
Friday, August 26, 2011 was also the last day of our Volkswagen Jetta. The car was on its last leg and since I was going into NYC, Friday morning I drove the Mini Cooper and Fred took the Jetta. He drove the VW from our driveway - which in three days would be under 5' of water - to the parking lot of his office and there it died. The Jetta would not turn over anymore. Being awesome, Fred didn't tell me about the car until after I came back from the UN. We were now facing this storm with one car - something we hadn't done before.
We weren't sure what the river would do and not wanting to stay in the house during the storm, Saturday night August 27, 2011 we gathered the dogs and had a sleep over at the Mr. PC office. Still in Lincoln Park, but not by water, we spent the night with the dogs in a windowless concrete block building and couldn't hear a thing. We couldn't hear the wind or the rain, we had power the entire night and the only indication that there was a storm, besides that we were sleeping at the shop, was the news and weather reports on the radio and Internet.
We received about 12" of rain from the storm. As usual after the rain, came the flood. It took about 24 hours, enough time for us to prepare, and then the rivers overflowed their banks, the water overtook the neighborhood, completely filled our basement and then got into the first floor.
On Sunday, August 28, 2011 during that 24 hours, when preparing for the water to come, our stuff went into three categories: 1) what we could/should bring upstairs 2) what we could/should put on top of other things that we hoped wouldn't get ruined by the water and 3) what we could lose. Realistically we thought we could lose it all. Inside the house we put things up 18" from the floor. We put the dining room table chairs upstairs, the computer and technology stuff on our desks and we rested the couch on the coffee table.
The garage was a different story. It is detached and about two feet lower than the house. During normal "major" floods we would get about 2.5' of water in the garage, so we tried to put things at least 4' up off the ground but that wasn't high enough. At the height of the flood we had at least 5' of water in the garage. Twice as much water as the most we've ever had.
Like before, we were going to bring the dogs to my mom's house to stay during the flood. This time we were not sure what to expect so we decided to not stay there either. I packed all of the dogs and a few days of casual clothes in the Mini and drove to Marie's. I borrowed her car to bring the dogs to my mother's house. The tires on the Mini were bald - lesson learned: if you need them, get your new tires today because tomorrow there might be a hurricane and major flood and you might have to evacuate. Fred stayed behind to tie up some loose ends at the house and wait for me to come back and pick him up.
On Sunday, August 28, 2011 at 5pm we were placed under a mandatory evacuation and had to leave the house. This was another first for us. Our neighborhood had only ever had voluntary evacuations, but this one was mandatory. Without hesitation Anne Marie went and picked up Fred at the house since I was still on the road to my mom's. After moving and evaluating all of our stuff and reconciling with the possibility that we could lose it all, he packed three days worth of work clothes, our Nespresso coffee machine and Nespresso coffee capsules and headed out.
Hurricane Irene delivered "historic" flooding to Lincoln Park and the surrounding area. No house in our neighborhood was spared; 9 houses suffered foundation collapses and some houses closer to the river had completely submerged 1st floors and water touching the 2nd floors. People who had just finished rebuilding from the previous floods were devastated again.
In some places in our house, the water went as high as 12" on the first floor. In other places, like the corner of the kitchen with the washer and dryer, we had only 3" of water. Thank God for an uneven house. My sister is now using the washer and dryer. We lost almost everything in the garage, including books and the crystal punch bowl, but we were prepared for this possibility and had already detached ourselves from these things. During the height of the flood our backyard was completely covered in about a foot of water and we lost all but one of our fish in our pond. According to our neighbors, a flood like this had never happened before.
About one week after Hurricane Irene came, Tropical Storm Lee passed through. Thanks to Lee, the flood water from Irene, which under "normal" flooding conditions could take 3-5 days to recede, came back up to "major flood" level.
It would take almost two weeks to get into the house and begin to assess the damage...
No comments:
Post a Comment