Floodwaters in Memorial Park, Passaic, New Jersey
Apr 15, 2007 Suburbia
Floodwaters in Memorial Park, Passaic, New Jersey
Originally uploaded by Ron Coleman.
Those trees on the right are not supposed to be in the water.
Mary Madigan is experiencing (and photographing) the same thing just a few miles away.
April 15th, 2007 at 3:48 pm
Ron,
That’s ok. It’s headed up here to Maine. Fortunately, although I only live about 200yds from the Kennebec River, which has about a 12 ft tide at this point, my house is still on a ledge about 60ft up.
If it gets bad enough that I have to worry about flooding here, then there are a lot more things to worry about than the water…
We usually do get a part of our commercial district flooded from time to time, but since most of the city is built on ledge, it doesn’t soak in as much, so the long-term damage is reduced due to quick drainage.
The big thing to worry about up here, along the coast, is freezing rain. That’s my chief concern at the moment.
If I don’t post for a couple days, it’s because we lost power.
Respects,
April 15th, 2007 at 7:42 pm
It’s okay because it’s heading up to Maine? I don’t exactly follow, Gwedd, but I guess you’re expressing prospective empathy of a sort. Well here in Jersey I’ve got water in my basement, which has happened only once before in the 13 years we’ve lived here, and it smells already. And we are way above the water table — or so I thought! — on top of a hill on a street called Heights Road way way above those raging waters in the picture.
The rain is just that epochal! May it wash away all the bad.
April 15th, 2007 at 9:19 pm
Ron,
Just comisserating(sp?) with you. This has been a LONG spring up here, the longest in probably 25 years. Back in April of ’82, we had 27″ of snow during the second weekend. Lovely.
I used to get flooding on a regular basis when we had heavy rains. It was the design of the street that caused the rain water to flow into the areas around the foundation windows, and seep in. I have a rock foundation built on a blasted out ledge, so it’s NEVER going to be completely dry, but it’s pretty solid!
The only way we got the water seepage problem fixed was about 5 years ago when the city decided to replace the 100+ year-old cast iron water mains and sewers. We convinced them to lower the road surface about 18″, and by golly that did the trick. Also, new larger granits curbs help channel the water to the storm crains instead of my yard
Best of luck with the basement. I’ll think good thoughts for you and yours.
Respects,
April 15th, 2007 at 10:07 pm
Spring showers..
If you live in New Jersey or NYC, try to avoid driving today. Many highways, including route 21 and route 280, are flooded. In Hoboken, many streets are blocked and most intersections are flooded with at least 1 ft of water. It’s hard to tell how …
April 15th, 2007 at 10:16 pm
Is this next to the King Solomon cemetery?
April 15th, 2007 at 10:38 pm
Right now in Hoboken, we’re learning about the disadvantages of flat roofs. Whenever the rain gets like this, the drains get clogged and the roof leaks.
Hope it settles down soon -
April 16th, 2007 at 12:14 pm
Oh, flat roofs are an utter engineering disaster. Nothing helps.
Yes, we are scant blocks from King Solomon cemetery here, Dad.
April 16th, 2007 at 12:34 pm
Sorry to hear about your basement. Be extra careful about electrical outlets etc. that may end up below the water line. It might be best to flip the necessary cicuit breakers off (FIRST get advice from your friendly local electrician!). Here is some useful info: http://www.sump-pump-info.com/flooded-basement.html
Some homes have yards sloping downwards (in some locations at least) toward the building. This can cause probklems even for homes on hilltops. The owners need to reverse the slope by landscaping and to have downspout extensions to discharge further from the house.
In flat areas with a high water table like here in Indiana, many homes have automatic sump pumps plus battery-operated backup pumps that kick in when the main pump fails or the power goes out.