AS I WAS SAYING...  Yes, I've been gone for most of the last day.  Where was I?  Fighting a flood.  A mighty flood.  Now I understand how Noah felt, although he had two of each kind of animal and I only had four sets of two Energizer double A's.

I'm sure you've seen the flooding in the northeast on television today.

Anyone who listens to Silvio Canto Jr's podcast, where I am a weekly guest, knows that we kid a great deal about bad weather forecasts, especially the ones that predict a major disaster that winds up as a light drizzle.

This morning we in the New York area had something of the reverse.  We got up and heard our Midland emergency radios warn of flash flooding.  Problem is, that's a pretty frequent warning up here, about 25 miles north of New York City.  The flash flood warnings usually apply to small pools of water along major arteries like the Bronx River Parkway.  Nothing much to worry about, but safe-driving practices were called for.

My wife teaches, and usually drives to school herself.  This morning, though, I drove, as I needed the car for some errands.  Neither of us knew what we were about to encounter.   My wife's school was open, despite some heavy rain.  What could go wrong?

Plenty could go wrong.  We still don't understand exactly what happened, but the weather alerts fell behind the actual situation.  We went out on the road to school, but soon hit a huge traffic bottleneck.  Good people got out of their cars to warn those behind that the road was completely flooded.  Fortunately, some of us could turn off to select an alternate route.

The rain got heavier and heavier.  Wipers were running at full speed.  The alternate route was passable, but the danger became obvious.  There is nothing like seeing sheets of water careening down a hill onto a highway.  Now we were feeling fear.  We could barely see through the torrents of rain. 

Finally, we got to school, but I insisted that my wife call inside before stepping out of the car to be sure someone was there.  She got a recording, so she made the short run to the door.  She phoned me to say that, yes, some kids were there, and some teachers as well.

Knowing that my wife was safe, I drove away, but remained utterly baffled that the school was open.  Conditions were dangerous, and schools in our region are very careful with the safety of students and faculty.  I stayed in touch with my wife by cell phone.  

About half an hour later my wife called to say the school would close at
1 p.m., a wise decision.  I drove back, and we drove home together through heavy rains, and serious floods. 

This was not a pleasant experience.  It requires a full investigation of notification and rescue procedures.  We learned that some students were trapped in schools because the buses could not get back through the flooding to pick them up. 

Kennedy airport got eight inches of rain, a record.  I don't know how ambulances got through for emergency runs. 

Incredibly, no deaths have been reported.  But we don't have the latest reports, and more rain is expected. 

Had the region gotten precise reports, with appropriate urgency, 90 minutes earlier, much of the hazard could have been avoided. 

Good night.

September 29,  2023