As some of you may know, the mid-Atlantic and some of the New England states have been viciously assaulted by tropical storm Lee. This storm has set records. It has set a new record of rain fall and amount of damage. It was even worse than hurricane Agnes, who struck the Mid-Atlantic and New England states pretty hard back in 1972.
All this rain flooded a river called the Susquehanna River. It is the sixteenth largest river in the United States that flows from New York down into Northeastern and Central Pennsylvania. When that river flooded, so didn't it's tributaries and other streams and cricks.
I live along the back roads, and we didn't have much water. But I can not say the same for other people in my area. The flooding had submerged two whole nearby towns in water. Houses any less than two stories that weren't on hills were under thick, muddy water. Whole businesses were under water as well. Bridges were completely covered in water. Roads were covered, so weren't detours and the interstate (though that has been reopened). Gas wells have also been under water, and some of the gas and oil leaked into the water. It's hard to imagine. In all my life, I never thought that I would witness something like this.
Though I wasn't effected, sadly I had family members who were. I had two aunts and uncles and cousins who had to evacuate their house in order to avoid the flood. My one cousin and her parents went to another house that my uncle owned, which was on top of a hill. My other cousin and her mother and father had to take shelter at my grandparents' house. My aunt and uncle and cousins who lived up in New York were also effected by the flooding. My cousins missed their first day of school because of Lee. I was also worried when I found out that a couple of my mom's aunts (making them my great aunts) had to evacuate their home/restaurant. It was also pretty scary when my dad went to work yesterday and he ended up trapped on the other side of one of the flooded bridges. He managed to find a way back home that wasn't closed though.
I also have friends in various counties who have been effected by the flooding. I still have yet to hear from some of them. I'm getting even more worried.
My school has been closed down for the past couple of days. The first day was because of all the water covering the roads. Today it is closed because it is serving as an evacuation center for the people in my school district who have nowhere else to go. Other schools have been serving as evacuation centers as well, those who haven't been effected by the flooding. I was distraught when I learned that one school that normally served as an evacuation center didn't get the message about the flooding from the Red Cross due to a communication error. The fire department there had to take it's place, and it quickly became overwhelmed. Churches have also been taking in people.
Which brings me to something else. Some of these evacuation centers lack the proper amount of food and water. We take for granted these things, but there are people out there now who do not have food and water. Others do not even have adequate shelter. Some people are actually trapped in their homes, waiting for rescue. The National Guard was called out to rescue those who were trapped.
Some people chose not to evacuate their homes. The majority of these were elderly people. Many of them had lived through Hurricane Agnes, and they swore they would not abandon their homes. They said they will stay in the second or third floors of their homes. One even said, "I lived here in this house when Agnes came through, and I didn't leave. I will not leave it now."
Some people did heed the warning and evacuated. Which was a good thing. Entire houses have been ripped away by the flooded river. They were just ripped right off of their foundation. One house nearly collided into a nearby bridge and nearly knocked the bridge out. Thankfully, the bridge is still standing firm and strong.
Some businesses decided to try and fight the water. The local movie theater here was busy pumping out water while people came in to take apart the seats so they could save the fabric. It was a tragic sight to see. That movie theater is the treasure of that town, and it is extremely beautiful. They also do plays. It has helped out with countless fundraisers too. I would never have imagined that theater may end up needing it's own fundraiser in order to help with repairs. What's even sadder was this place was remodeled just last year in order to accommodate more theaters. To see all that nearly destroyed by water is just awful.
Hopefully, the theater has flood insurance. Unlike some people who have been effected by water. In one of the towns that is more further away, people who have been flooded do not even have flood insurance. Their agents said they wouldn't need it. Those people are now going to have to pay for those repairs from their own pockets.
In another town, a curfew had to be established last night. People had started to loot houses. At nine 'o' clock that night, all people had to be inside. That just makes me sick. That people would even dare think about looting a place during a natural disaster is just unbelievable.
This is no joke people. It felt like we were back in the time of Noah when the Great
Flood came. I heard references to it all day yesterday. Some today too.
Thankfully, some of the water has died down. But it's far from over. Other places still have water rising. As that water in those places starts to lower, it is rising in other places. So needless to say, we are not out of the tunnel yet. We can see a light, but it's not over yet.
Yes, we are all in great need of prayer over here. I am asking you on behalf of all the people of this area who have been effected by the flooding. Some of you who are on thelionscall know and have been praying, I just ask you continue to pray. For those of you who are just learning about it on here, please, don't hesitate to pray. I don't care who or how you to pray to but please, we need all the prayer we can get over here.
Staying strong,
WriterFreak
