I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter. We had both sides of the family over for a big egg hunt and a delicious ham dinner. This Easter was beautiful, but felt a little different this year.
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The northeast was hit hard by 2 large rain storms in March, the biggest one was last Tuesday with over 8 inches of rain. The rivers, lakes and ponds couldn't handle the amount of water from the first storm, so 8 inches just sent them over the edge.
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Here in Rhode Island several towns are devastated. We live in the southern part of the state which was hit pretty hard when the river broke it's banks in several sections of town...some parts are still under water. We've had the Governor and the head of Homeland Security here to inspect the damages, especially the bridges that were weakened by the rush of the water. People have been evacuated and can't get back into their homes. The town was without power because a substation was under 8 feet of water. Thankfully our power company built a temporary one to get the town back on line.
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We were very lucky and only had 2 inches of water in our basement. The water was coming in through the cement floor from the high water table. It was just a matter of pumping it out and my poor husband using a shop vac for 2 straight days. We are very experienced at floods...remember our past 5 (yes 5!) floods with "Father Nature". Father Nature, for those of you who don't remember or who are new to my blog, is my very forgetful 86 year old father who lives with us. He has left sinks on for hours, broken dishwashers and over-stuffed washing machines. We are very experienced with water and floods!!!
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These pictures below are not mine. They are from the Internet. There are so many videos too, but I thought theses were just incredible.
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This first shot is a section of Route 95, which is a major highway from Maine to Florida. Several sections were closed for a few days. The buildings to the right and left of the highway are under water.
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This next shot is a section of track that Amtrak and Acela travel on from Boston to New York and DC.
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These last pictures are the most shocking with just the sheer magnitude of water. This mall is about 30 miles north of us. I just saw a report on this evenings news that today was the first time they were able to enter and see the damage inside. There was 2 feet of water throughout the entire mall...from Macy's to Target...one end to the other.
I had no idea...I've seen things on the news but didn't realize the extent of the flooding. Yes, my thoughts and prayers will be for all those affected...hope your basement is okay as well!
ReplyDeleteOh Karen, I have never seen anything like that; the mall, all the stores all the items lost it must be millions of dollars, but not as important as the lives of the people, my thoughts and prayers will be with them. i am so glad you and the family are safe.
ReplyDeleteOMG That is just terrible - I am thinking of you all.
ReplyDeleteThe rains this year have been devastating to so many areas. I hope the weather gets more "normal" soon and stays that way. These photos you showed are truly incredible....and not in a GOOD way!
ReplyDeleteFloods are so devastating. My city, Cedar Rapids, was hit by a flood in 2008. There are still many parts of the city that are abandoned and sad. I am so sorry you are going through this.
ReplyDeleteMy goodness ,those pictures say it all .prayers and good thoughts coming your way .
ReplyDeleteHow devastating! Prayers for the NE...may this current weather continue and may cleanup be swift. Glad you and your family are safe!
ReplyDeleteHow horrible....what can I do to help? Everyone was so kind to the people in Amerika Samoa...
ReplyDeleteI saw on the news that the southern rivers were still a foot over flood level. Sure hope they go down soon. We went for a ride today and hit the shannock area and then got stopped at alton with the road. I can only imagine how bad the other areas are. I have a few new photos I took today, on my blog.
ReplyDeleteDebbie
It was a crazy few weeks! Hope all is back to normal soon. Glad you and the family are okay.
ReplyDeleteKaren, I didn't know how bad this is. I'm glad that you and your family are safe. This is just devastating. I will keep you and this situation in my prayers.
ReplyDeleteI had no idea either. I have never seen anything like this before.
ReplyDeleteI will certainly keep you, your family and your community in my thoughts and prayers.
Wow...the pictures you shared certainly bring your region into my thoughts and prayers. Glad you are all well and able to enjoy Easter with your family.
ReplyDeleteI have been seeing this on the news of course but I didn't realize you lived in Rhode Island. Hopefully it will all dry out soon. I'm glad that you had as little damage as you did it certainly could have been worse.
ReplyDeleteKaren
http://karensquilting.com/blog/
Funny how we can find "blessing" in seemingly unpleasant things - i.e...you are thankful for ONLY 2" of water in your basement! Thank you for sharing - sometimes we lose touch with what others are going thru and need to be reminded so we can pray accordingly! God bless you!
ReplyDeleteHi Karen.
ReplyDeleteI just saw this post of yours that I must of skipped somehow. I am glad you guys are Ok and so sorry for all the damaged homes!
At least the water has started to recede! My basement is currently drying out-it had quite a bit of water in it. Thank goodness everything's up on pallets.
ReplyDeleteOh my God Karen,we are praying for
ReplyDeleteall of Rhode Island. :O)
The pictures reminded me of the hurricanes that have hit us in NWFL: such devastation. Your area is in our prayers.
ReplyDeleteI'm catching up on blogs since I haven't been able to with guests staying with us.
ReplyDeleteI had NO idea things had gotten this bad when the rains hit.
I surely hope things are coming around and settling down.
Prayers and thoughts, however late, are still sent with sincere love.