I mostly want to share a few pictures of what Tropical Storm Hermine dumped on us in North Texas. Even after several hundred miles after making land fall, Hermine dumped about 5 inches of rain on Tuesday, and then unloaded another 10 inches on Wednesday.
My daughters left for school at 7:30 am, driving our Jeep Liberty. Somewhere after 9:30 my oldest daughter calls to say that the water is rising in the parking lot of the school and is up to the door of the Jeep. So, I put on some old shoes and head on out.
By the time I get there, the fire department has blocked things off and the water is at the level of the seats in the Jeep. They weren’t going to let me in, so I drove around another way and came in through a gutter area on the other side of the parking lot. The water had come in such a rush into the parking lot, many cars were moved in the force of the water.
Needless to say as you can see from the pictures below, most of the cars, buses and vans received major damage. I waded through various cars retrieving books, cell phones, etc. for different students. With the water well above my waist, almost everything I retrieved was ruined.
What’s amazing is that at about 9 am, the parking lot only had puddles from the rain fall. Within a very brief period of time, the water was up to 4 feet deep in the parking lot, maybe more. After leaving, and then returning at 2:30, all the water had receded from the parking lot. What was left was a mud, thousands and thousands of dollars in damaged vehicles and personal belongings, and the occasional snake that had swam through the lot and settled into a car or two.
It can all be replaced, it’s just a hassle. Some personal items may be beyond replacement, but there were no injuries… just a few bafoons wading through the water.
Here is a link from one of our local TV stations: Flash Flood in Arlington
In the photos below, notice the time and how the water rises.
Tomorrow begins cleanup.
8:57 am – notice where the water is on the track hurdle on the right
8:58 am
9:15 am – The water is now above the hurdle and cars are shifting
9:32 am – water continues to rise. Notice the water over the hood on the back-left car
10:03 am
10:04 am – Notice the cars in the background with water to the windows
10:33 am – This is when I arrived. I could not get in this way, so I went for another route.
10:48 am – I came in through this way, moving to the left and up to the school. Near the back of the photo, look how high the water is on the yellow buses in the parking lot.
