Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Water level at the river has increased slightly, but they are still predicting a 25 foot river by sometime Monday. It does seem like they keep pushing the timeline back, which is good...unless that means it will take that much longer for the water to recede once it is here. And just to put things in to perspective, in 1993 when we saw massive widespread flooding on our area, the river crested at 25.37 feet. Sadly, they do not think the river will stop at 25 feet. I guess we shall see.


Activity in the area...

• The electric companies are removing all of the meters they can in this area so they don't get flooded. They have been calling us finding out when they can remove ours. That's reassuring. 
• Some of our neighbors are also building dikes around their places. I would have photos but I can't find the cable to that camera.
• The railroad in Bigelow 3/4 mile east of us removed their traffic control gates (those big arms that come down when a train is coming) just yesterday. This was slightly alarming, no pun intended. Now they have 2 guys standing there with "STOP" and "SLOW" signs directing traffic. YES, I'm serious. I wonder how long they will pay these guys to do that. I hope they can swim.
• Sandbags are being delivered and placed in areas of very high risk and importance. This load was on its way to the water plant near Rulo. Sandbagging has also taken place in Forest City and Craig as well.

And in case you needed one more thing to worry pray about, check out this article by Bernard Shanks, an expert on the 6 dams that are sending us water. (Thanks, Regina, for sharing!) Granted, I think he's a little alarmist, but what he's saying is not outside the realm of possibility. I did find this quote interesting, talking about the ever-so-popular Army Corps of Engineers, "The corps is infamous for management errors, caving to commercial pressure and losing sight of its primary mission. This pending threat is so huge that it is gambling with the nation's security." Don't think so? Read the article and imagine what would happen to this country if all of the roads, bridges, and railroads near the Missouri River were wiped out by one massive inland tsunami. That's not what he calls it, but what else would you call the water flow created by all 6 dams collapsing like dominoes? Cheery, I know.