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| My creek overflowing my road early on during Matthew |
In the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew, a storm that wasn’t
supposed to impact my state with more than a bit of wind and some rain, we are
experiencing record flooding as a result of the record rainfall we actually
received. Schools have been closed since we dismissed early last Friday
afternoon. It is now Thursday morning of the following week. Three of our
schools are being used as Red Cross emergency shelters.
The river that runs through my town hit a new record flood stage
yesterday and is not predicted to return to “normal” levels until the middle of
next week. To make matters worse, several dams in the area have been breached,
adding to the volume of flood water. One of the towns in our area has been
completely inundated. Fortunately, it was evacuated in advance of the river’s
rise.
My wife and I are very lucky. We live in an area of relatively
high ground and once the rains slackened off the pond on our property stopped
expanding. At its highest level the flooded pond got within ten feet of the
house. The creek the pond feeds into is just down the road from the house and
it rose to flow over the road to the point vehicles could not pass. Unlike far
too many roads in the eastern part of our state, our road did not collapse from
the torrent.
Reports yesterday stated that 60% of our county was still
without power. Most of the county is under a boil water advisory, including my
area. A significant portion of the county is currently flooded. This scenario
is being repeated along all four of the major river basins in the eastern part
of the state. The pictures and the video being taken are like something out of
a Sci-Fi environmental disaster film.
I have been able to get in touch with some of my students’
parents and have received word that they are well and enduring the lack of
power and water. I am deeply concerned about those that have not responded to
my messages. Today or tomorrow I will be delivering a load of supplies to the
shelter at the high school many of my students matriculate to. I am wondering
if I will find many of them there.
There have been many heroes over the last week. The fire
fighters, the police officers, the rescue squads, the power company line repair
crews, the National Guard soldiers, and the thousands of private citizens who
have stepped up to help their neighbors in need all deserve our heartfelt
thanks and gratitude. Also deserving of recognition are the many food service
businesses in the area that, when the could reopen, have offered free or
discounted meals to those working to restore order to the county and those who’ve
been displaced from their homes. Many grocery stores have also stepped up,
offering free water and ice to those folks whose water is undrinkable or who
have no water or power.
I want to give special recognition to Papa John’s. As soon as
the roads allowed, Papa John’s sent an 18-wheeler from Kentucky to our town.
The truck is capable of serving up to 800 freshly baked individual pizzas a
day. These pizzas are being offered free of charge to those who have been
without power since the storm hit and have not had a hot meal in days. I always
respected Papa John for its business acumen. I have newfound respect for the company
as a good corporate citizen.
There is no word yet on when classes will resume here in our
district. I pray that when they do, all of my students will come back safe and
sound.
As always, I remain,
The Exhausted Educator
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