Waiting to dig out, Dry out

After a sleepless weekend of historic rainfall, dams collapsing, streets and bridges closing, we are just thankful that all the kids, their homes and ours, survived. That is more than some people have. Too many have lost everything. One daughter was evacuated from her apartment after a small dam on the Mill pond gave way in reaction to three dams collapsing further upstream. The historic building that houses my office was damaged, with several outbuildings/businesses completely washed away. We might be able to get in there today to survey the damage. Fortunately, we are on an upper level that does not seem to have suffered any water damage, as far as anyone can tell from cursory observation. A number of roads out of town have been washed away or closed. They have reopened 2 of them, but the bridges across the main rivers are dicey. Two of the kids are on the other side of the rivers from us. At least they are safe and did not flood out. We are sorry for those in Columbia where there is no city water in many areas, including a number of hospitals, and those that do have a trickle of water are having to boil it.

People who were evacuated had to move several times due to flooding or no water at the shelters. It was so bad here that the Extreme weather center had to relocate due to the extreme weather! Our state has suffered greatly from this weather event and we pray that the death toll does not rise. It will take a long time to recover from this tragedy, with many roads and bridges around the state completely washed away. We are stunned and a little in shock at the moment. Time to put on the waders, grab a shovel, and start reclaiming our lives.  ~ Michael S. Pauley