On Friday, October 2, the weather report called for rain. Not just any rain, but 15 inches of rain. Enough to cause some significant flooding to our lower-lying areas. Some people went out to get milk and bread, but there didn't seem to be much of a panic, like when it snows around here.
Saturday, October 3, was supposed to be the day of the rainfall, and it just misted all day long. There were even satirical videos on Facebook talking about the "torrential misting" that we experienced. There were so many posts about how the weather forecasters were wrong again. I had a suspicion that we would still have a good bit of rain, but not a clue what I would wake up to the next morning.
That night, several times, I was awoken by the sound of pouring rain. The next morning, it was still pouring, and the news was showing some flooding areas. Church was cancelled, so we decided to stay home and stay safe.
Sunday, October 4 is not a day any of us will ever forget. For the rest of the day, we were glued to our TV and our phones, looking at some of the most horrifying and unbelievable photos I've ever seen.
The most horrifying of all were photos on a new friend's FB wall.
I felt completely helpless. I don't have a boat. I don't live near her. I shared her photos in case someone I know did. Thankfully, they made it out ok.
Others did not.
As the day went on, I heard and read stories of heroes. Some that I knew and some that I did not. Two male friends rescued their own families from flooded houses before going back to rescue neighbors. Some dove in freezing cold water to save people out of their cars that were being swallowed by rivers that used to be streets.
We saw photos of our friends' homes and strangers' homes, completely submerged in water.
Two of my friends' homes
The house my friends were rescued from their attic, as they boated away.
Businesses completely consumed with water.
As the rain continued to fall, dams that weren't built up to code started breaking everywhere, sending more water to houses and businesses and more people to shelters. Mandatory evacuations were called, but some couldn't leave their streets except for on boats. Roads were collapsing, which also made evacuations difficult.
The road we use to get out of our neighborhood.
A car dealership...
And just so many other haunting images...
This woman was brave enough to share her story. What a miracle that she survived!
The dock on my grandmother's property at Lake Murray. The water is usually at least two feet under this dock.
Before and After
Before and After
The memorial set up to the officer who was killed three days before the flooding.
Stories started coming in of those who had died. Cars swept away, unsuccessful rescue missions, and other horrible outcomes of this flooding.
A boil-water advisory was issued for everyone with city water, because the sewage lines were breaking and mixing in with the water. We filled up our washing machine, in case we lost water (which we did overnight only), and the water was brown.
Our house is at the top of a hill, in a neighborhood that is on high ground. It just looked like a heavy rain storm from our windows. We were among the fortunate few who did not lose power.
My kids did not seem to be affected by the images we were seeing. This was good, because I didn't want them to be traumatized, but at the same time, I wanted them to know what they had gone through. I started collecting pictures on my phone so that I could show them one day. Then family and friends from out of state started texting and sending messages. I decided to put together a Facebook album of all of the images that were so hard to believe, even for myself.
Soon, I heard of a family from our mother of twins club. A single mother with a 7-year-old daughter and 3-month-old twins had lost everything. My mission became to get her what she needed. After several deliveries during the next few days, we had loaded her up with clothes, toys, diapers, bottled water, formula, pack 'n plays, bouncer seats, a high chair and several other things that should last her for a while.
The next morning, it was still raining and there were reports of more dams breaking.
I woke up to several messages about the photo album I posted, and many friend requests from total strangers. Apparently, my album had gone viral. By 10:00 a.m. on Monday, 35,000 people had shared it, and the number was going up about 75 people/minute. All told, it was shared over 99,000 times, and I received 1,100+ friend requests before Facebook shut down the ability to request me as a friend. Apparently, everyone else wanted to have the photos in one place too. This led to many reaching out to me to see what was needed, though. I'm still awaiting packages and gift cards from those who wanted to help.
That Monday, everything was shut down, except for a few grocery stores where people could go for essentials and, mostly, bottled water. They urged people not to get on the roads, as dams were still breaking and roads were still collapsing.
Jason had gone out Sunday to get some bottled water for us, so we seemed to be ok, but many others were not. Water distribution centers were set up quickly, and many cases were being delivered to shelters. Schools and churches were set up as shelters, and people were being bused to other shelters as each became too full.
Tuesday, when the sun came out and we got the go ahead to leave our homes, many churches and other organizations became donation drop-off sites. So many people had lost everything. Toiletries, towels, sheets, food, pet food, clothes and more poured into these sites from so many generous people. I even picked up a donation for our mom from the club from a woman who lived in Augusta who had driven here just to make donations.
Images began coming in of the aftermath of the flood.
The side panel of the attic where my friends escaped.
Tide Loads of Help came to help people salvage their clothing.
National Guard protecting drivers from damaged roads.
Fire trucks pumped clean water into local hospitals.
My friend's playground ended up on top of their house.
There wasn't much I could do, since Jason was back at work and the kids were out of school. Most of the donation sites were asking that volunteers not bring young children. When I mentioned this to Harmony, she decided to drive down Thursday to watch my kids so that I could volunteer. Shaunna came with me and we became "shoppers" for those who needed items. As supplies and food were limited, we had to be very sparse with what we could give them. We were told to just give them what would get them through a day or two. With so many of them without cars to get there again, that was heartbreaking. It was also heartbreaking to see the few who were taking advantage of this opportunity to get free things, and the few who seemed ungrateful. For the most part, though, everyone was grateful, and it felt good to be getting out and doing something.
By Wednesday, all schools in the city, including the university, were closed all week. Our area of town was hit hardest and our kids didn't go back to school until yesterday, and are operating on a two-hour delay all week because of all of the road closures.
For the first several days, when I went anywhere, I was rerouted because of a road collapse, or a bridge washout. Most of the larger roads have been repaired, but there are still several in my are causing detours.
It has been amazing to see how well our city has come together. How we have worked together to get people in houses or apartments, to get supplies to those who need it, to fix roads and dams, to honor the 19 people who lost their lives. There were very few cases of looting, and those who did were arrested immediately. The Thursday prior to the flood, one of our local police officers was shot and killed by a suspect. He had a wife and a six-month-old son. One week later, his wife was at our food bank, working to get food to those who needed it.
On a personal level, we were fortunate. We anticipated our storage unit to be a total loss, since it was right behind the big intersection they showed with all of the flooding. But when I went by there Tuesday, there was not a drop of water in it.
The kids' school has counted the media center as a total loss. They are trying to dry out books, but not having much success. Some hallways and classrooms had flooding too, and two are having the floors completely replaced.
I have six friends who lost everything, except their families. A former classmate lost his cousin. But these people are grateful. Grateful to those who have helped them. Grateful that things weren't worse.
That is what I will take with me. Now that the kids are back in school and we can safely drink our water again (as of yesterday), after homes are rebuilt and belongings are replaced. I will remember two things. Gratitude and Service.
1 Thessalonians 5:18 …in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you
Hebrews 6:10 God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.
Please pray for our city as we rebuild.
The logo my former classmate developed. He has raised more than $1000 selling shirts with this logo!
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