Rain and Flooding

[Ole Joe Clarke]

Well, more rain is in the forecast for tomorrow. I've already had over 12" in December, and over 70" for the year. But, I can count my blessings, the house don't leak and no storm or water damage. Lots of folks in the surrounding area lost homes, loved ones and cars and other stuff.

Have a blessed day,

[osteodoc08]

Yeah. We've been hammered with rain pretty hard down here lately. Have a friend on Lake Jackson that had it come within an inch or so of coming inside but flooded the crawl space, duct work, etc. thankfully it receded some overnight.

Prayers for for all of those that have endured loss or casualty.

[dtknowles]

My 8 inch rain gage overflowed. Prayers for those who are at risk of floods or who suffered from severe weather.

Tim

[Love Life]

Flint River is super swollen.

[cwheel]

Well Love Life, sure wish you could send some of it over to your old home town in Nevada. Fresh snow this morning, but we will need much more to come out of this drought over here. Not enough snow to plow. The country is getting enough water, just not in the right places. We are lucky to not have the devastation that comes with some of it.
Chris

[Blackwater]

The rains haven't reached the near coast region of Ga. yet, but we've been having some sudden, short heavy showers. I hope we get spared the worst of what this storm front has produced for some. My DIL works with Ga. Power, and is one of the people on their disaster relief teams, so she occasionally has to strike out for parts unknown to help out. She's a great gal, and anyone who has her on their team or side is lucky. There's nothing that gal can't or won't do to help folks in need. Very knowledgeable and competent, and always has the overview on what to do and how to do it. She's truly my daughter by another mother, and their disaster relief teams are really good, too, and she's one of the reasons for that, but it takes an awful lot of good and able folks to git-r-done. And when the call comes, there's little time to prepare, and she's usually off like a rocket, kind'a like the volunteer fire fighters. Hope there's no need for it. I like having her around. She's a great mom and everything else she does. Folks like her are really appreciated when they're needed as badly as they are in some of the things she's met with. She's even had to go out with some of the linemen on jobs, and never shirks anything. Sure has taught her to appreciate all they do, and few, especially those out of power, appreciate what all they do or the conditions they often have to work in, but they do it anyway.

It's good folks like her and so many others that make the disasters that befall us at least less serious and consequential than they might be. Many depend for their lives on electricity, and that's something that's not lost on her or any of her team. Great folks, and if you ever find her coming in to aid in a bad situation, rest assured it'll be handled about as well as one could possibly expect. They've all been there and done that before, and it's just old hat to them. And thank God for that, too!

Just wanted to give a big shout out to those who help fix the bad things that happen to all of us some time in our lives. It's their job, yes, but they take it seriously, and most all of them are just grateful that they can help in times of trial. So don't forget these great folks if you find yourself in a bad spot some time. And also, those good ol' boys that turn out to help any time bad things happen, with their 4x4's and winches and chain saws, etc. Good hearted folks always matter, and those who are there to help matter most of all sometimes.

My year as Master of the local Lodge, we took an assembly of guys over to SC after a hurricane, and pitched in to the degree we could, and helped a number of folks get squared away. One family was an old man in a wheel chair and his wife who'd spent the hurricane's passage over them rolled up in a carpet for warmth, and praying the house didn't cave in on them. It took down their car port, and he couldn't get outside the house, and she couldn't walk very far. We took down the trashed car port, so they could get outside (the ramp was there and they couldn't use it until we got that done), and sealed up the hole left with plastic to keep the rain out and prevent mold forming inside the house or attic. It was a big job, but we got'r did, and helped several more to varying degrees. We had a local contact who could tell us who needed the most help the most desperately, and that connection really mattered. While some were profiteering there, it was good to just be there to help some folks in real need, rather than trying to profit from it all. I will NEVER be able to appreciate the profiteers in those situations, but they surely seem to find folks with enough money to pay them.

Just hope none of us here ever have need of this sort of thing.

[Love Life]

Check it out Blackwater: http://ga.water.usgs.gov/rivercam/webcam-albany.html

The flint river is quite high here in Albany. Hopefully things slack off, but right now it's only about 10 ft from jumping and flooding into town.

There is this site as well: http://water.weather.gov/ahps2/hydrograph.php?wfo=tae&gage=ABNG1

[David2011]

Prayers for all affected by the heavy rains and flooding.

David

[bedbugbilly]

Our prayers go out as well to all who have been hit by the weather whether it be snow or flood. Looks like St. Lous/MO is really having problems with the water as many others are as well. In those times, it's up to others to help pitch in and give a hand in any way they can to help ease the loss. Blackwater points out a circumstance where age is certainly a factor and the least a person can do is to check on their neighbors if possible.

Fortunately here in southern MI, we haven't had problems like some of you folks other than some ice and power outages. What always amazes me when there is a catastrophe though is how folks bounce back, pick up the pieces and move on. One thing to remember is that material things can be replaced . . not easily I know . . . but human life can't. It's too bad that many who feel "entitled" and on the "entitlement programs" can;t take a lesson from all the folks who have losses but still move on and work hard to get back on their feet . . . often times with no help from anybody.

Blackwater . . . my Brother . . it sounds like you had a good year in the East and you all can be very proud of what your Lodge did.

Again, our prayers to all of you who have been hit hard and may the new year bring you some relief and happiness.