We Interrupt This Series...For a Flood

Back in 2007, my hometown was inundated with a record level flood. This flood was significant enough for a photo of downtown Findlay to make it into the Jakarta Post, a major Indonesian newspaper.

Main Street bridge over the Blanchard River

Yesterday, we had quite a lot of rain, following some major snow the week before. There has not been so much rain today, but still some.

Yesterday, when I went to work, there was a major leak in the ceiling of Hobby Lobby. The cashiers worked around half a dozen plastic bins set up to catch the water.

Flood waters encroach on a gazebo in a park on the river bank.

I have plans to fly to Missouri to spend Christmas with my brother and his family. My parents and Rachel already are there, after a travel misadventure of their own. But that is another story. Before I could head to the airport, I had to make it back to my grandmother's house to pack my clothes and Christmas presents for the family there.

The trouble is that as the water rose, most of my options for roads that could reach her house were closed off due to high water. There really isn't much danger of the flood waters reaching the house itself. Even in the 2007 flood, the water never reached that far. Even so, the one route in that did not yet have some part of it underwater seemed likely to be closed within an hour or two.

The view down Main Street looking north. People were busy
at Dominos Pizza (just out of sight) placing sandbags.

Rather than wait there to leave for the Detroit airport sometime in the early morning, and risk not being able to get out, I hurriedly packed my suitcase and got back out of the flood zone.  I am now at my parents' house, thankful to be well away from any possible flooding, and will head to Detroit in a few hours.

About 5:00 this afternoon, I went down to Main Street and got some pictures of the river. I thought I'd share a few photos with you.Not as spectacular as the flood photos from 2007, but still...at least my readers who know Findlay, Ohio, will be interested.

I pulled this quote from an article in The Blade (https://www.toledoblade.com/local/2011/04/26/Findlay-officials-brace-for-more-rain-that-could-mean-Top-10-flood.html)

This photo was taken from
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/hundreds-displaced-by-flooding-in-ohio/.
It shows an areal view of the 2007 flood in Findlay.
Thankfully, the situation isn't so dire this time.

"While the Blanchard River’s worst flood occurred in 1913 when the river reached 18.5 feet, that record was followed closely by an August, 2007, flood in which the river crested at 18.46 feet. This past March 1, the river crested at 16.42 feet, which is listed as the city’s sixth worst flood."

This same article claims that the best estimates for the current flood is 15.5 feet sometime on Thursday. My prayers go out to those who are currently dealing with chilly, dirty floodwaters in their homes and businesses.