New plan: Save the City

A new update for you. Things have changed quite dramatically in the last few days. Here is a list of some of the happenings thus far:

Canada is flooding from large amounts of rain
I don't think the snowcaps have melted yet, and the runoff comes to us
There are three or four dams releasing water into our system because they are at full capacity.
There is an astounding amour of water headed for lake darling
Lake darling is full already
Darling has been holding back for US to have time to evacuate
Darling dam releases are going to dramatically increase to make room for all the water coming to the lake
This is good because we definitely do not want the dam to burst-shudder-
This is bad because our system can NOT handle anywhere near the amount of water coming
We can't handle it to the point where they stopped work on the dikes
We are under mandatory evacuation
They've advised us to move as much as possible including stoves, fridges, etc
The whole city is advised strongly to plug all basement drains because the sewer system is overloaded and will likely back up at some point somewhere
The city is diking the city infrastructure such as the water treatment plant and other such places
The water is already higher than the "crest" from the last evacuation
The new crest projection is ten feet higher than it is now
They estimate the water levels will be nine feet higher than the 1969 levels

And more.

So.

We have completely moved every single thing from our house
We are getting organized and settled into grandmas house
My sister Beth is half a block from the evacuation zone so she too has moved in here at grandmas though half her stuff is at the williams' house
We are not exactly sure how much water will get in
We are two blocks away from the water treatment plant, which has a webcam on the roof to record and observe the river

Whew! I'm getting completely distracted by my kiddos. I hope this list is somewhat understandable. Later I will post actual numbers as they come in. To sum it up, we are facing historic, tragic, unprecedented amounts of water. There is no way to avoid it. The water is expected to run over the dikes for a couple weeks.things change so dramatically so quickly. The last prediction of the water going one to two feet above the dikes didn't happen. But. I think this will. This water MUST come through save the dams, which is the dams broke, there would be no saving anything whatsoever. We'd be lucky to escape period. But the dams are in good condition and functioning properly. There is just so much water coming that we are all being overwhelmed. There is no way to hold it back any more. They've been holding back what they can to keep from going over, but it is no longer possible to prevent that. The lakes and dams are all full and are facing inflows that THEY can't handle. There is no choice but to release the water.

I don't want you to look at me with pity and tears in your eyes. We as a city are facing this crisis and dealing with it in every way we can. We've prepared in every possible way. Everyone is in the same boat. Every single person is affected by this, whether their homes are in the flood plain or not. The community has pulled together and is helping each other. The few through roads are more crowded than I've ever seen, but people are patient and let each other through. They follow the direction from the national guard and the city officials. They are taking care of their neighbors with help and food and drinks and storage and housing and everything one could imagine. I don't feel sorry for myself. I'm not happy with the situation, but it cannot be avoided. It is happening to all of us. We are as well off as is possible short of not having a flood. This is historic. In a sick kind of way it is exciting to be a part of it. It makes me sick in other ways too, but we don't dwell on that part. We are having an adventure, thats for sure.