Hurricane Floyd
Posted By BrokenClaw on September 24, 1999
Trailwalker was at home when Hurricane Floyd hit us. Schools had already been closed in anticipation. By mid-morning the basement started to flood. Since we live just a few blocks from the River, when the spillway was no longer able to handle the massive runoff, street drains near the house quickly backed up. By noon the house was completely surrounded by water.
Trailwalker had her car moved, but not before she had several inches of water on the floor. The basement was completely filled with water to within inches of the beams. Although we don’t use it as a living space, everything that was stored down there was destroyed: old furniture, tools, etc. The furnace and water heater were casualties as well.
Broken Claw was at work all day. At 9:45 AM they suddenly announced that the computers were going offline. Water was pouring into the basement of the hospital and the computer equipment was in danger and had to be moved immediately. Unfortunately, we got no advance warning, so we were suddenly without any of our computer records. We had to resort to the printed copies from the previous noon, then hand-write everything that we’d done since then. Broken Claw called Trailwalker at home every hour to see how things were going there. At work, the basement continued to take on water. Food Service had to be moved to a temporary location on the second floor. The small creek, which runs about two blocks from the building, overflowed its banks and completely flooded the downtown area to within a half block. Around 6:00 PM they were able to put the computer servers back together. Broken Claw was there till around 10 o’clock, catching up with all the day’s work. Schools remained closed on Friday, as authorities checked roads and bridges for damage. At home, it took weeks to clean up and assess the damage and the expense.
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