Rhode Island Great Flood of 2010

The rain came down.  And came down.  And came down.

That's the best description I can give you of March 2010 in Rhode Island.  Think I'm kidding?

The National Weather Service said its rain gauge in Warwick recorded 16.34 inches, nearly double the old March record of 8.84 inches set in 1983.

The average for the month had been 4.43 inches.

And just like the kid's song "the rains came down and the floods came up."

I won't forget Easter week 2010 for a long time.  Sewer services in several cities failed as a treatment plant and pumps were flooded.  Oh yeah.  That was pleasant.  For several days we were told NOT to shower, wash laundry or flush.  To do so was to risk sewage filling your house.

Ewww!!

We were fortunate.  We had some water in our basement but it was kept under control with a wet/dry vacuum.  Joel estimates he emptied over 100 gallons from the vacuum.  I believe it!!  And we aren't even close to the flooded rivers/streams!!  The ground was just so saturated that the water seeped into basements.  Our neighbors continued to pump water from their basements for a week after we stopped.

Joel is vacuuming up the water in this picture.  This was probably our worst section.  When he discovered the water the floor was covered about 1/4 of an inch here.  As soon as he sucked the water up you'd see it coming in again.

We didn't lose anything of value - in large part because I store our stuff in plastic tubs.  This is just part of our collection!  Most of these are kids clothes.

I can rightfully say "I survived the RI Great Flood of 2010" but it's not an experience I care to repeat.  And we got off easy.  Our neighbors are gutting their basements.  Other people in our state lost their homes and their businesses.  We are fortunate.

Have you ever survived a flood or natural disaster?