My Hometown, Flooding and My Uncle...

It's been a long night for me. For the most part, I spent it talking to my Aunt and then breaking bad news to my mother. My hometown of Coffeyville, Kansas as most may know was partially destroyed by flooding and contamination. Originally I called to check on my aunt who lives there. While my aunt is safe and sound, I learned that my uncle is recovering as a victim of the recent flooding. On Friday, my uncle was unreachable at the motel he was staying at on the east side of town. Apparently he'd been asleep until he heard a disturbance outside his door. Not thinking anything of it, he opened the door to his room and was washed into the flooding waters that were already way too high. The only thing that saved his life was a tree that he'd attached himself to and stayed the night in. The next day a rescue team found him, alive thankfully. He was hospitalized and is now home with my aunt, recovering. He's pretty banged up and is unable to walk, but he's alive! As ironic as it is, in the same motel, a man died because he refused to leave his motel room. Sigh. I am just thankful it was not my uncle.

A New Day, Not Much Has Changed

It's a new day here, but not much has changed. The shut the pump to the water off at 3am this morning, but they turned it back on around 1pm this afternoon. We now have water, but we must boil it before it can be used.I've learned that my hometown where several family members and friends live, has contaminated water. They are being advised not to touch the water because of risk of disease. Also the city fears there is something in the air that could possibly make people sick, but they say so far it won't.

It has been raining on and off today. The good news is, the water that was two blocks away from us is gone. We're not out of the water yet, however. It will get worse they are saying, before it gets better.

On a brighter note, I am experimenting with a new feature that will allow my page to load faster. It's the Read on link and should open in a new window. The only downfall that I have found is, it can't be used in windows live writer. Or can it? Does anyone know if this will work with it? I've grown attached to windows live writer and really enjoy using it. I also fear that it may cause problems with Pay Per Post. Does anyone know if it's a problem for them? Some feedback would greatly be appreciated!

When it Rains it Floods

If you've been watching the news, where I live, many areas of the city are completely under water. Right now we're only safe because we're on high grounds. Yesterday they evacuated about 100 people here and announced that anyone in a low rise area needed to evacuate immediately. Today they announced the water supply is being cut back considerably because the pump is being shut off. Looking out my front door, the water is about 3 blocks from us. The river is 4 blocks from us, so I'm assuming that's where the source of the water is coming from. My concern is my family who live in Coffeyville. They have no power there and they are under water on the east side. My aunt lives on the west side and the water is reaching her backyard and heading for her house. She has left her house. The ambulances went down the streets last night around 11pm and told people there to evacuate. The town of Fredonia is gone. The picture you see was taken by a Kansas resident. I'm not sure what area this is. I do know that South 11th street here in town is that high up. Fredonia is worse. The water has risen nearly up to the power lines. We have a friend who's parents live in Fredonia, so we are hoping they are okay. Neodesha is partially underwater. My fiance's sister lives there. She's on higher ground and is okay right now. We're all just hoping that it doesn't rain anymore. sigh.