CAL Posted September 9, 2011 Share Posted September 9, 2011 Sorry hear all this, Bill. Hopefully we hear from you soon and all is well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyjim Posted September 9, 2011 Share Posted September 9, 2011 Hope it goes well for you, Bill. There's a battery backup sump available and there was one that operated on water pressure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brutalform Posted September 9, 2011 Share Posted September 9, 2011 Good Luck Bill.....You and many others are in our prayers!!! Right here in Wilkes Barre, the river crest was actually wrong. It crested at over 42.6 ft....over the crest of Agnes. There is only minor flooding here in the city, as the levees are over stressed now. We are crossing our fingers, though, as we are not out of the woods yet. Some water is getting past the gates on Market St, and in Forty Fort as well. This widespread flooding has hit a lot of my friends and customers. It makes me get a sick feeling to know all of the devastation, everyone, and yourself is experiencing. I hope your part of the boro stays above the water. I am in disbelief over the news on TV, that I have been watching for the last 30 hours or so. When you get back to your house, try to mentally prepare yourself for what you may find. Try to keep your head high, and be thankful you have your health. God Bless, you Bill...and also the flood victims in the 40 counties this has affected. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niteowl7710 Posted September 9, 2011 Share Posted September 9, 2011 The thing about Pennsylvania is that all those pretty hills means that water is coming down out of them in some fashion. I spent much of the day during Hurricane Ivan's arrival standing in a downpour first bailing out a below elevation window well (which threatened to blow out the window and start dumping water directly into my basement - water was already squirting past the edges of the casement where it met the wall) and then digging a run-off channel down the side of my house so the water would flow into the already flooded front section of my yard. The normally 3 foot wide, 7 foot deep drainage creek that runs the front of my property turned into a 15 foot wide "river" that flowed through everyone's front/back yards along the street, my driveway had just enough elevation to be mostly out of the flow. Afterwards we all wondered how the old man-made stocked pond that's about 300 yards up a hill diagonally above my house didn't escape it's earthen confines since it's outflow pipe is only about 6 inches in diameter and water was shooting out of it like a wide open fire hydrant. In the end everything but my lower back was spared from damage, but a lot of people in and around Pittsburgh weren't so lucky. So here's hoping everything works out for you Bill, hope you had an extra inch or two of elevation and your sump pump put up a valiant effort. May the most emotionally devastating thing be dealing with your insurance company for new basement HVAC equipment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Cranky Posted September 10, 2011 Share Posted September 10, 2011 Bill, I'm sorry to hear it, and all the stress it must be causing you and your family. Hope everything will be fine and if there's any damage that it is indeed minor. Please please please keep us posted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VW Dave Posted September 10, 2011 Share Posted September 10, 2011 I don't pray very often, but you can count on me Bill. Keep us posted how you fare. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eshaver Posted September 10, 2011 Share Posted September 10, 2011 I was a part of the Flood in Hurricane Agnes in 1973. I too put everything on the second and third floor of a very old building I was in . The water went PAST the roof . We wern't allowed in for ten days . Even then, there was nothing to salvage . Thats where I lost my collection of models dating from 1959-1970. They vanished out down the James River . Ed Shaver Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
935k3 Posted September 10, 2011 Share Posted September 10, 2011 Bill I am really sorry to hear about this, I was wandering how you were making out. Me and Georgia will be praying for you. This was a bad one. We made out OK on the West shore and I don't have a basement to worry about. Give us a call when you can. Tyco was closed today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nova-ss Posted September 10, 2011 Share Posted September 10, 2011 Bill, Like others have said....I'm sorry about all the water and damage it is causing for ya all there.you and your family will be in our prayers.as long as you and your family are in a safe place then that is a great thing.so far I've not hade any floods.I've traveled to were fooling was going on to help but not been or suffered and loses.I hope that your home and land is ok still.try to think positive and you are in ours prayers.try care and best of luck.Thanks,Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Modelmartin Posted September 10, 2011 Share Posted September 10, 2011 Take care, Bill. Hopefully it won't be too bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
styromaniac Posted September 13, 2011 Share Posted September 13, 2011 Bill- I hope things turned out O.K. During the worst of the rains last week my regular 1 hour commute from Laurel MD to Springfield VA turned into a 3 hour test of patience as the torrential downpours closed part of the beltway near the Wilson Bridge & some local roads. I was lucky to find the storm water had only soaked the carpet in my man - cave...most all of my hobby stuff , kits, books, magazines, etc was spared. I pray your collection of world class work is safe, but even more important your family & home. Earthquake, Hurricane, Monsoon...its been a real thrilling close to the summer of 2011 here along the mid-Atlantic coast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrObsessive Posted September 13, 2011 Author Share Posted September 13, 2011 Well guys and gals I'm back home------------for the moment! The damage was limited to the basement only thank goodness. I lost the hot water heater, furnace, refrigerator, a lawn mower stored there (don't know why I didn't bring it upstairs! ), and some junk models I had stored in various and sundry boxes. I also lost a bunch of plaques and trophies of shows I've won in years past...........I simply forgot that I had them in the basement in a box as I would have brought those up. None of my good models were damaged by the flood so that was a good thing. Oh well........... I'm waiting for the insurance adjuster to come by hopefully in the next couple days. This really puts a crimp in my work schedule as I've not been to work since last Thursday, Since I work a third shift, it makes it difficult to stay up during the day to get a hold of these people and then try to get to work that night. For now, getting my place back in order is more important. I did let my job know what was going on.......and they didn't have a problem with it. Seems as though there were others at work that suffered worse damage. Lots of cleanup is in order..........better break out the hose and bleach to get rid of the muck on the floors and walls. They're having a common pickup of all the flooded stuff on Saturday..........I'll try to have all the stuff waiting to go before then. I'm going to stay the night here at my place only because they're bringing me a new fridge first thing in the morning. The one that was in the kitchen was already broken, so I was using the one in the basement for the moment. Well of course, that one is toast now since it was flooded, so I have to spring for a new one anyway! When I get more time, I'll be posting pics of the damage. I would now, but the pics were taken on my iPhone, and I don't have the USB cord with me to load them on my PC and Fotki. Speaking of PC's, mine was acting real funky when I hooked everything back up. It's been disconnected since Thursday, so of course it needed a ton of updates. I think I got all the cobwebs out now! Thanks everyone for all of your nice words of encouragement! They say you learn something new everyday, and I gotta tell you, that's absolutely true as I've not experienced something like this before, and hope not to again in the future! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Cranky Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 Well, you lost some stuff, but the best part is that you are back home now and can do something about it. All of this will be a distant memory in no time, Bill. Wishing you and yours well. Best, DC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harold Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 I feel for you, Bill. Fortunately, you're OK, as are your two howling cats. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
High octane Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 Hang in there Bill as things could've been a lot worse. I do hope that things work out for you and will keep you in my thoughts and prayers. Don't give up as you're a better man than that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Cole Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 Hope you bounce right back from this, Bill. Best of luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drgon63 Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 Prayers are with ya Bill.... hope all works out and y'all are safe.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drake69 Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 Glad you, your family, pets, and model kits made it through! Hurricane Irene and the storms afterward have been pretty rough on all of us, seems like Irene didn't like model builders for some reason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyjim Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 The important thing is that you're safe, Bill. Refrigerators and water heaters can be replaced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darbo Posted September 15, 2011 Share Posted September 15, 2011 Glad to hear that most of your stuff is o.k. Bill, lucky you had a bit of a warning to get stuff upstairs, i don't know how i would cope if i was to lose everything in a flood with no warning and no time to move anything. I am sure everything will work out fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie8575 Posted September 15, 2011 Share Posted September 15, 2011 Good news is welcome. At least nothing to too great consequence was lost. Charlie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruz Posted September 15, 2011 Share Posted September 15, 2011 Really sorry to hear this Bill, I just hope everything turns out for the better my friend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrObsessive Posted September 16, 2011 Author Share Posted September 16, 2011 OK! I have some pics here of the damage that was done to my basement due to the high water that as you know------some folks' homes were completely wiped out! I'm at home (for the moment) as I just got off the phone with the unemployment comp. folks as I haven't been to work due to all the folks that need to come back and forth (on their time) to give estimates, repair times, cleaning, etc. Not hoping for much from the comp. folks as they'll say that my job was still open, which is true, but when you work third shift like I do, it makes it hard to have people come into your home during the day when you should be asleep------and then try to go to work that night. Makes it rather difficult! So here ya go!.................. You can see the the high water mark as it came up my trap door leading into my basement.................. And here's the water that was in the basement up the stairs before the fire department started pumping water.................. Here's what greeted me as I looked down the basement stairs from my kitchen.................. Believe it or not, the refrigerator was still running! I called the electric company immediately to cut the power lest the fire department get electrocuted trying to pump the water out! Stay tuned there's more.......................... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyjim Posted September 16, 2011 Share Posted September 16, 2011 Terrible, Bill. At least you're OK. Hopefully you'll be able to rebuild better than it was. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrObsessive Posted September 16, 2011 Author Share Posted September 16, 2011 Here are a few more pics of the damage...................... I should have tried to bring up the lawnmower among other things, but as I was leaving, the water was coming up my back yard and I didn't want to risk sticking around for too long. I didn't know if there could have been a flash flood of all a sudden, and then I literally couldn't leave and my car is stuck being flooded! I measured the water line in the basement, and it looks there was at least five feet of water down there. It took the fire department about four hours to pump everything out-------including the house next door as well. As it stands for the moment, a cleaning/restoration service is to be here by Monday.............they're going to haul away all of the junk, power wash everything, disinfect it all, and add an antimicrobial agent to keep mold from occurring. After that it's a fight to get my furnace replaced (NOT REBUILT), and then getting a new hot water heater in as I have no hot water right now. Hopefully to get all this done before it starts to get cold! I really want to thank everyone for all of your concern............I intend to get through this one way or another! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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