By this morning the Platte River had risen considerably and the water has continued to seep into the basement at a rate of about 5 gallons every half hour. It was a very long night last night, and obviously, I’m almost too exhausted to type.
If the river continues to rise at the current rate, I estimate that it will breach the river bank in 2 days..if I’m lucky. The ice and snow has not yet melted completely and the rain continues to fall at an alarming rate. For the first time in a long time, I’m afraid.
I called the city this afternoon and asked the receptionist if the they had discussed an emergency plan for Elm Street, since it appears certain that the street will soon flood. The woman at the city said that no one had discussed the river yet but that they should, she said she’d contact public works right away.
If I felt afraid earlier, her reply terrified me. The river is not only moving faster than I’ve ever seen but its a few feet from breaching the river bank and the city hasn’t even thought about it? It certainly doesn’t instill confidence. Worse yet, we have maybe 2 days before the river spills onto the street, so its too late to think about sand bagging. It is also important to note that the lowest point in the river bank is directly across from the side of the house. Also the street is higher than my neighborhood so the water will without question flow towards my house and my neighborhood.
Within a few hours I saw a public works truck drive up Elm Street…then another, then a squad car, then a city truck, hours after that the DNR arrived. I watched as they all stood talking in the rain for a very long time, no doubt discussing how monumentally screwed we all are. After that Elm Street went from being a city street that saw about 2 cars a day, to being a parade route.
Do you ever feel like you have to think for everyone?
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A Novel Spot 