First wind and then water
Now that the storm has passed, we’re getting images of how things went elsewhere. Not far from here, though. This is a local story.
First of all, wind wasn’t the issue. Water was. Rain, rain; enough to float your boat, whether you wanted to or not. Rivers that ate roads. Mud that covered, well, everything. Saw some footage from a campground just south of us, and it wasn’t fun. Imagine coming back to search for your mobile home. I can see a tent rolling away, but something that required a fifth wheel to move?
Imagine a campground office where the mud has filled the lower third of the room. Forget sweeping that out with an old broom. What about a containing wall, built from boulders, that now covers the main beach area. Not cool. I mean, I’ve seen mud on a campground – enough to squish between my toes and remind me of younger days, but not this kind of destruction. The owner seemed bemused by it all (the shock had abated, like the floodwaters).
On one website related to weather topics, the debate was on about “if Irene had even been a hurricane”. Yes, I think we can agree that this one qualified. Yesterday, I counted no less than ten large branches “down” during my brief walk to catch the bus. More than in the last twenty years, if that helps set a level of intensity. Two days have passed and there are still power outages in this area.
Note to self: pay more attention to those tropical storms, because they may change path and eat you up.
