The Move and The Flood
Okay so June 25 came and went and Brendan and I were getting the house ready for the big move. Then July 11th came. Moving Day. Awesome. We had a large truck and a cast of movers including us, Kim, Kevin, Karen, Keith, Jen, Hugh, Alett, and Paul. We started around 9:30 and ended at 12:30. We couldn’t believe a) how hot it was and b) how quickly it went. Then the BBQ started. Then around 1:30 some people left and around 2:00, the rain started. We watched the rain fall and laughed at the fact that Jen and Keith had just gone for a run. Jen returned first and she was soaking. Then Keith came home. We continued the drinking until a knock on the door came. Turns out the street was flooding and Keith’s car was in danger of getting wet. We then watched the waters come down the street and laughed. I went down to check our basement and just some water was there from the bulkhead. We go back upstairs and more drinking ensues. About an hour later, we realized that there was about 2 inches of water in the basement. We just moved. And now water. So Jen, Keith, Kim, and I begin to bail out the basement while Brendan and Paul go to Home Depot for a Wet vac. 2 hours later Brendan returned. As he was leaving, he ran into our neighbor Bob. Turns out Bob had about 2 feet of water in his basement (Bob says it was the second worst he has seen it in the 25 years he has lived here. The streets were so badly flooded, traffic wasn’t moving. (We later learned that a tunnel got completely flooded and 2 people had to swim to safety). Once we had the wet vac and the water began to subside, it took a few more hours but it was dry. The next night it rained again and panic ensued. Brendan and I were afraid to see if water was coming in but it wasn’t and it hasn’t anytime it has rained since moving day.
We later found out that most of Somerville was experiencing bad flooding. The police station lost 3 cruisers to the water and had to chain motorcycles down for fear they would be taken with the water. They estimate the damage to residents and the city at $10 million so far.
As I told Brendan, we seem to get done with all the hardships earlier than expected – major illness 7 months into marriage, flood one month into home ownership. That is how we roll I guess.
You might want to look into supplemental flood insurance supplied by Fed. Gov. There are ads on TV all the time and the rates quoted are very modest. It is worth looking into.
I like your take on it. Get the rotten stuff out of the way first. I think it’s only fair now that the remainder of your life as homeowners be smooth sailing. Or at least that you only have to deal with “regular”, stuff, like blue bins and what not.
This was a sobering experience, literally