East Coast Niagara
Well, it's been raining for a few days now - and is due to continue for a few more. As of this morning, my town had absorbed 10" of rain in just the last 2 days alone. Earlier this afternoon, my best friend's parents were rescued from their home in a motor raft when the waters rose above waist-level. My mother's boyfriend has been running his wet-vac continuously since yesterday afternoon...and he lives on the "high ground".
A large portion of local streets are closed; several lakes, streams and rivers have breached their banks; and roofs and basements are flooding. Massachusetts has declared a state of emergency and quite a few of our towns have opened shelters.
Tonight I'm running a Red Cross shelter in Gloucester. It's just past 3am and my staff is asleep. Our Police detail is making his rounds and the halls are finally quiet. Outside, rain falls ferociously. The drops lash out with such fury that if I close my eyes and let the sound wash over me, I can almost believe I am standing beneath Niagara Falls....but for the waxy scent of Crayola that permeates the halls.
Our residents are wonderful, fascinating people; locals all, as are my staff. Independent and sociable individuals, I've learned more from them tonight about the history of this town, then in the 30+ years I've lived nearby.
My shift ends at 6am....and I'm a little afraid of what I'll find when I get home. My roof was already leaking by yesterday, the amber and caramel of wet plaster spreading outward from the corner of my study ceiling. And as I left for my shift here at the shelter, I could see that the damned front gutter promised a breach in the basement as the water poured over the side like sparkling clear lava rushing down the side of a mountain.
But for now, I think I'll just focus on the last moments of quiet before folks start to stir and the hustle of "today" begins.