I never want to see another drop of rain again in my LIFE!

The BBQ Pit
1

Or how I spent the day bailing out the basement, by Guinastasia.

Western PA is under a flood watch, and as our storm drain seems to have clogged up, water is filling up our basement. Not a huge deal, as it’s only a few inches, right? Except, it’s not draining, and it keeps coming up. We just got the furnace looked at – the last thing we need is for the water to seep in there, or in the freezer.

So, me, my mother, and my father, spent most of the day hauling buckets up of water, in a futile attempt to prevent it from getting any worse. Bailing out the Titanic, you say? Perhaps. But if we hadn’t, it would’ve been way, way worse.

Finally, after four hours of this shit, my dad left and went to Home Depot to get a sump pump. And as my mother and I are hauling out the last bucket, our neighbor (if there were an award for World’s Best Neighbor, this guy would win it, I swear, he’s the coolest guy ever), offered us his.

So now, after a sponge bath*, I’m sitting here, exhausted, but relieved. And seriously, seriously grateful that it wasn’t worse. 14 years ago I started a thread when Hurricane Ivan flooded our basement – and the neighbors down the street lost everything when the crick overflowed. So far, it looks okay. Cross your fingers/say a prayer/send good wishes/whatever you want that it stays that way!

And to my fellow Rust Belt Dopers, please, stay safe and dry!
*Since the drain still isn’t working properly, have to hold off on the proper showers. I’ll take what I can get. It’s better than being soaked and filthy.

2

Move to California. You will end up praying for rain.

3

Generally not a fan of the heat.

This kind of thing really only happens once in a blue moon. (And now we have the pump) Recently we were saying, “damn, we could use some rain – our plants are drying out.” Oh, if only we had known!

4

Good luck! It looks like more is coming…

5

It sounds miserable, and I’m sorry you had to deal with it. It seems to me that everyone with a basement ought to have a sump pump on hand, so yay for being prepared for more now.

On the other hand, even though I was outside all day yesterday, getting soaked (and developing blisters from soggy socks and shoes), I was glad of the rain. We need all we can get down here in Texas. Plus, it brought out the fireflies, so I got to spend part of my evening watching those.

6

I never liked basements. Sure you need one? And crazy to have it in a flood-prone area.

7

I live in San Francisco. Heat is not a problem. Lack of water is.

8

Guinastasia, I feel your pain on the rain thing. The entire DMV is soaked, and yes…yes, we have flooding issues.

I hear it’s the entire East Coast suffering. My family down in Florida says it’s the same way there. Damn.

Best of luck!

9

Just popping in to say, it’s a relief to know that Oregon isn’t the only place that people call it a crick lol. Good luck though and hopefully things get better!

10

This rain comes after a week or so of intense 90 degree days. friends and neighbors are dealing with flooded basements. We spent yesterday walking a colicking horse, in the rain. It just now stopped raining, hope it stays stopped.

11

For several months after Harvey dumping 40 inches on the Texas coast, a lot of people experienced PTSD symptoms every time it even threatened to rain. But most of us came back around and appreciate rain when it comes in appropriate measure and time. Though some of that is coming back now that we’re at the peak point of the year for tropical storm development. I have never experienced such visceral joy as seeing the sun for the first time after several days of rain of biblical proportions.

This too shall pass. The rain does end eventually and things do dry out. And it is a wonderful surprise to find afterward that the people with whom you share a neighborhood and city are tremendously generous and giving with their time, effort, and support.

12

Raining again. Ten minute respite.

13

Jesus, I hope he’ll be all right!

It’s still wet downstairs, but it’s almost back to normal elsewhere. It’s just there’s all this water still soaked into the ground that isn’t going anywhere. But I was able to take a shower finally and wash up all the dirty dishes.

In some areas around here, people were going out in kayaks to check things out. Seriously.

(At least it’s not as bad as it was when Ivan hit.)

14

A friend I haven’t heard from in years texted me Sunday to see if I was up for some extreme-kayaking. There are some bodies of water that are only kayak-able during floods. I’ve done it in the past, but I’ve also had some close calls. Plummeting down a creek and coming upon a strainer (downed tree(s) or other obstructions) can be deadly.

I begged off due to the horse (who is 100% normal today!!).

It’s not raining!!! :smiley:

15

I wouldn’t go as overboard as the thread title, but it would be nice to have one dry week for a change. In fact, I’d be happy with a dry weekend. Haven’t had one of those for a while.

I’d be happy to give California a quarter of our rain so far this summer. And more on the way this weekend as the remnants of two hurricanes come by.

16

Years ago before she got married, my mother told me about a coworker of her’s who decided to go canoeing in the Loyalhanna Creek during a flood. Dude ended up naked in a tree and had to be rescued by a helicoptor.

Glad to hear about your horse. Everything’s back to normal here as well, except I can barely walk. I asked my mother yesterday, “Why didn’t we think of a sump pump to begin with?” She was like, “Because we’re idiots?” Pretty much. :wink:

17

You should have gone along with it…and brought a stereo with you, so you could blast Richard Wagner’s Ritt der Walküren at full volume.

:D:D:D:D:D

18

I can’t really complain seeing how much rain the SE coast and north Atlantic states are expected to get, but the past week has been a soggy mess and I haven’t seen the sun for six days.

Plus we’re supposed to get at least 1-2" from Florence before it’s over with.

19

On behalf of Southern California, I accept. We have no rain. Also no basements. What we have is 90-to-100-degree heat over a week after Labor Day. :mad: