The water is gone that’s how it works…a quick in and a quick out. That statement sounds happy though, and it isn’t happy for many of the people left behind.
Today Kalissa and I took a walk to check things out. We were so sad by the time we got back home. All of the green you see was underwater on Saturday.
Do you see the park bench on the left? The top is split into three or four boards. The top one was the only one visible.
We all love the river…it’s pleasant and scenic most of the time, but every five to ten years it turns nasty, floods, and leaves a mess behind.
Here the side of the road is just gone.
Here is a better view.
Right along this area the water was bubbling up and churning. Everything you see here that is green, and the tennis court, was under water.
This is our playground…
Luckily everything is still standing. As long as the park stays at this location, we’ll never be able to have a really nice park as the flood waters make that impossible. I personally wish we’d build a new park…but it’s so nice here by the water.
So much sand and silt have come inland.
It’s just a mess.
The road along the park is so beat up. I can’t believe that outhouse stayed standing.
Here is another picture of it…Yes, that is supposed to be a road.
and another…
The river itself is damaged. See the big sandbar that has formed. Previously, it couldn’t be seen.
This is the home of friends of ours…they live right next to the river.
I zoomed in. I could just cry. Their house is one of my favorite in all of the town. I haven’t had a chance to talk to them to learn the extent of the damage. Ah. So sad.
The campground is next door…it’s a mess too.
There was such little warning, the camper goers couldn’t get their campers out before the water gushed in.
I had Kalissa stop right here so I could snap a picture.
Compare it to this one with Carver in the picture. It’s the same location showing the difference from Saturday to Monday. WOW, right? This is over a block from the river. This area gets the brunt of the damage when it floods.
We had zero damage to our home…neither did Karl or Kalissa. We are so thankful but still hurt for our friends and our town. The last time it flooded was 2016. Carver was weeks away from being born. My hope is that we can make it another 10 years before we have to deal with this again.
I want to do a huge shout-out to the townspeople who helped sandbag and the firemen. Many of the guys were awake for 20 hours working on this as after was done in our town, the group moved down and helped the small town to the south of us. They are a great group of people and I’m so happy to be a part of Waucoma. Let the clean-up begin!!
Oh wow, so much devastation for a small town to recover from. That one beautiful house sure looks like there may be structural damage, so sad. So thankful no lives were lost and so wonderful how -people will pull together when something like this happens. I can’t help but think about all those houses and people in New Orleans.
So glad that your family is ok and not dealing with personal property damages. Small towns are resilient! Everyone pitches in and does what he/she can to help their neighbors. Miracles happen when people pull together!
Oh, goodness, Jo. What a mess to have to clean up! Seeing your friend’s beautiful house is heartbreaking. Here’s hoping the damage isn’t as significant as it appears!
So glad you and your family’s homes weren’t affected. I feel bad for those who were. Water is so beautiful and so destructive. The park does look like a mess and I understand why they wouldn’t want to move it. I’m sure it’s lovely most of the time.
I’m so sorry for the damage your town has suffered!
Seeing the damage your town has suffered
Makes .e waant to cry. The town i lived in when I was growing up had a river running through it. Just c about every other year it would flood sometimes minor,often enough major that the town set a building margin for the river area. No buildings within a 1/4 of a mile of the river. So floods come and go the parks do get damaged but from what I saw the last time I went back it has not been to bad. Praying no extra severe damage ihas happened those roads are bad enough.
Glad to hear you and your family are ok. Thanks for letting us know how you are and the update to the town. Praying that things will be able to get back to normal soon. Your community is amazing that I have a feeling everyone will be helping each other out.
Love and prayers
I am reading this as rain is pouring down due to rain bands coming from Hurricane Ida. We live 5 hours from New Orleans but will likely have flooding from this rain. People think hurricanes come and go but they leave so much devastation behind. I”m glad your area is drying itself out but it looks like there is work ahead. HOpe your friends house isn’t too bad.
This just makes me want to cry. I am glad that you and your family made it through okay. Your friends’ house looks like it has some foundation issues, but I really hope not. Your small town will pull together and get it back up quickly I am sure. That is just what small towns do!!! Love and hugs from SC.
Such sad pictures. It is amazing to me how quickly the water comes in. Glad that no one was hurt. Prayers to all of the people in your community living in SW Fla I can fully appreciate what you are all dealing with.