April 17, 2007

Evacuation

Posted by Scott at 10:02 PM

Flooding - If you've followed any New Hampshire news, you know that the southern half of the state has been coping with some excessive flooding due to a Nor'easter that did not come to our area as snow.

Monday - When I left for work Monday morning, it was a delayed trip because I'd spent about 45 minutes on the phone that morning supporting a customer in India. Michelle had left for the YMCA about five minutes ahead of me with the younger four children. Claire stayed at home because she was feeling a bit weary. As I was backing out the driveway, Michelle DirectConnect'd me to say I should take a look at our brook and the Souhegan River when I cross over them.

Our brook was flowing about as high as I'd seen during other rainstorms, but the river! Whoa! The water was as high as the large rocks that border its sides. It was going under the Veteran's Memorial Bridge, but not by much.

Commute - As I drove to work, there was some water flowing across the road near the Brookline Village Store. I watched the car in front of me and decided to cross as it was only 4-6 inches deep. Later as I approached the state line, a town official directed me to turn back. Looking just a bit beyond him you could see a tree that had fallen across the street with the upper limbs resting on power lines. I think I saw some smoldering near the contact points. The rest of the trip was smooth sailing. Massachusetts has the school week off for spring break and Monday was Patriots day and Boston marathon day.

Stranded - A couple hours after arriving at work Michelle again called to say that Veteran's Memorial Bridge was closed. She would try an alternate route. A few minutes later another call saying that alternate routes were unavailable. She called a neighbor who informed her in that the neighborhood was being evacuated. The neighbor swung by our house to pick up Claire and get a few essentials. Michelle rendezvoused with the neighbor and she took all the kids to stay with a friend in Nashua. Still, Michelle had not showered at the YMCA and would not have had a change of clothes if Claire hadn't brought some when she evacuated.

Needless to say I was trying to stay calm while down in Marlborough. Anxious throughout most of the afternoon, I got a call just as I was about to leave that our neighborhood had been re-opened. Other towns around us have had it far worse, most notably Goffstown and New Boston, which straddle the Piscataquog River.

Tuesday - As yesterday, Milford schools were closed today. It was still raining albeit lighter than the past few days. My drive into work was uneventful, but my return trip was awful. The Nashua river crosses under Main Street of Groton, MA just west of the town center. I had planned my route to vector north over a mile in advance of that bridge, but the town had detoured Main Street traffic onto my back road. A portion of my trip that usually only takes five minutes took about forty minutes. I didn't get home until 7pm.

Illnesses - Michelle took the kids to the Milford clinic this morning. Claire had a continuation of yesterday's lethargy but now with a temperature of 104.5°F. Abigail has been coughing a lot when she goes to bed at night. Michelle has an infection on her right index finger. Unfortunately there was no one available to watch the boys, so Michelle took all five children to the clinic. If anything, perhaps it incentivized the staff the move on her appointments more quickly.

Wrapup - That about wraps up our perspectives on this springtime Nor'easter. We are understandably a bit tired and need to catch up on some rest. In a couple of days things are finally supposed to turn towards typical spring weather. Pray for those households not far from our own which are still struggling for power or to stay dry. Pray also for Claire, Abigail, and Michelle, that they may each get over their respective maladies.

Comments

Hey-
Mom told me about the day you guys had yesterday- WOW! Hope you are all hanging in there. Did they say the cause of Claire's illness- just a virus?
We actually had warmer weather yesterday and today, but that's supposed to change.
All of our furniture has been delivered and things are getting back to normal- we are enjoying the new space- it makes such a difference!
Talk to you soon,
Lys

Posted by: alyssa at April 17, 2007 10:58 PM

Howdy Scott -

We just did the high fever & lethargy thing with our oldest (10) and youngest (2). A day or so after the fever left they both broke out in an itchy spotted rash that's lasted about 3 days so far. The pediatrician says it's basically a head cold with a harmless rash; painkillers & Benadryl.

Hang in there -

bw

Posted by: Bill White at April 18, 2007 01:50 AM

Hi Lyss, Hi Bill,

It seems like it is a passing flu or fever. Last night I set the girls room up with a vaporizer. Claire seems fine this morning and is going to school, which has re-opened today. I also ran to the local drug store last night to pick up a bottle of Betadine for Michelle to soak her finger in while we watched more "Dancing with the Stars".

For those who want to see pictures and video of the storm's results, the following news sites have good coverage:

http://tinyurl.com/yw8yjf

http://tinyurl.com/yokcor

http://tinyurl.com/266r8r

http://tinyurl.com/26e3wj

Posted by: Scott at April 18, 2007 06:20 AM

I've been surprised by the flooding, since I don't live near a river and hadn't seen how high they've gotten. I ran into roads closed and detours trying to take the back way home through Hollis last night.

I caught up on the stories of flooding on the Telegraph's page this morning and I was wondering how you guys were, since you're near the river. I'm glad to hear that it didn't affect you too much and Michelle and the kids were only evacuated for a couple of hours.

-- Will

Posted by: will at April 18, 2007 10:24 AM

I think our evacuation wasn't because our house would be underwater, but that the access roads to our neighborhood would be. As such, if there were any emergency (ie. hospitalization), you would be trapped and might try something foolish.

Posted by: Scott at April 19, 2007 09:22 AM