My plan was to stop at McDonald's to pick up some breakfast, and then shoot up East 33rd to school, to work in my classroom. That was a bit a problem however. After three nights of thunderstorms and heavy rain, I knew there was flooding, but I was not prepared for what I saw. Not only was East 33rd flooded, but so was part of Hubbell.
In the thirty years I have lived here, I have never seen Four Mile Creek this high, including during the big floods in 1993. Water was half way up the sides of the trailers in the mobile home park on the north side of Euclid. Taylor House, which is a hospice, was flooded as were the new buildings near by.
My mom said she received a phone call at two o'clock in the morning from the police, telling her to evacuate, if she was close to Four Mile Creek. They called everyone within a mile radius. Thankfully, my mom's house is safe.
Every place I drove today, there are houses with hoses draining water from their basements. Water is bubbling up through manhole covers and sewers. To top it off, the current temperature is 91 degrees with a heat index of 104.
Sadly, this flood has turned deadly. A sixteen year old girl died when three cars were swept off the road, just east of Altoona. She was a student at Southeast Polk High School, where my nephew is also a student. My thoughts and prayers are with her family and friends.
I hope this is the end of it, but more rain is forecast for Friday. I feel fortunate that my basement is dry and I have a new air conditioner. I am thankful that my family is safe. I can't imagine the frustration some of these people are feeling as they deal with the third round of flooding so far this year.
