OMG. That is so sad. I have family in Blacksburg - but not at Virginia Tech. What a sad day this is.
The Storm of the Century
My cousin went to VA Tech to become a vet, thank got she isn't a student anymore. A very sad day.
x,C
It gets worse with every news update. Such immense heartaches for all.
A Yankee Cat, on the other hand, is a blessing to her neighbors.
Va. has the Campus shooting and now a possible dam break.....can't get much worse than that.
The rain is still pounding w/an average wind of 37mph. and gust still reach 50 at times. They tell us we have another 24 hrs. of rain and wind here in Maine. We already have 81,000 with out power and our worst high tide is at 11pm. The house's (been up dated to more than one now) on the coast that are in danger of going into the ocean are still holding on but the tide tonight is the one that will most likely take them.
Lots of big trees have fallen, a roof of a building blew off in Portland and many low lying roads have been closed due to flooding. The Govenor has declared Maine in a State of Emergency. You think???
Glad everone here at DG's is holding their own, and thankful you are all safe!
Peace, Celeste
OMG - I have been in classes all day and have missed all the news . . . it sound like something dreadful has occurred in virginia - I am going to check CNN.
Celeste - we're thinking of you and wishing you all good things. Hold on tight.
When tragedy happens, I try to remember all the good people in the background who are working hard to make things better. It is a dreadful day for many families today - there will be a lot of good people who will never be thanked or remembered, but thank goodness they exist.
These are the roads that are closed in Southern Maine only, it give's you an idea of the damage that is taking place here.
Here is a partial list of road closures throughout Southern Maine.
Acton
Milton Mills Road near fairgrounds
Alna
Route 218
Berwick
Little River Road
Wilson Street
Hubbard Road
Blackmore Road
Thompson Hill Road
School/Guinea Road
Wentworth Road
Blackberry Hill Road
Biddeford
Route 111 from Drews Mills Road to New Road
Buxton
Route 22 at Route 112
Cape Elizabeth
Shore Road from Pond Cove to Route 77
Casco
Route 121 from Route 11 to Raymond
Dayton
Route 35
Falmouth
Babbridge Road to Blackstrap Road
Farmington
Route 149
Gorham
Rt. 237 from Standish Line to Rt.202
Brackett Rd.
Wood Rd.
Route 114 from Route 35 to Gorham Village
Harpswell
Route 123 from Harpswell to Brunswick is closed. Use Mountain Road to connect to Route 24 to Brunswick.
Harrison
Route 117 to Route 35
Hollis
Route 117 from Plains Road to Route 202
Kennebunk
Route 35 between the Maine Turnpike and Route 111
Lyman
Route 111 at Route 35
Naples
Route 35 to Route 117
Newfield
Maplewood Road to Route 110
North Berwick
Lebanon Road
Madison Street
Turkey Street
Valley Road
Oakwoods Road
Fox Farm Hill Road
Portland Street
Morrell's Mill Road
Parsonsfield
Elm Street
Phippsburg
Route 209
Richmond
Route 197 between State Route 138 and Interstate 295
Sanford
U.S. 202 at the intersection of Routes 4 and 1A.
Scarborough
Broadturn Road
Payne Road
Spurwink Road
Sebago
Route 107
Route 11
Dyke Mountain Road
Anderson Road
Springvale
Route 109 at Route 202
South Berwick
Route 236 Great Works Bridge
Knights Pond
Boyds Corner Road
Junction Road
Emery's Bridge Road
Academy Street
Bennett Lot
Ogunquit Road
Quamphegan
Hooper Sands Road
Great Hill
Liberty
Thurrell Road
Pond Road
Jewett Avenue
Blackmore
Linscott/Finson
Brattle Street
Belle Marsh Bridge
Standish
Route 25 at Route 113
Sweden
Route 93 from Route 5 to Route 302 in Bridgton
Topsham
Meadow Road
Waterboro
The following Roads are closed:
New Dam Road
Chadbourne Ridge Road
Federal Street
Sand Crossing
Lone Pine
Beaver Dam
Route 5 from Robert Ridge Road
Strawmill Road
Ossipee Hill Road (Both Ends)
McLucas/Alfred
East Shore Road
Middle Road
Roberts Ridge Road
Mast Camp Road
Townhouse Road from Deering Ridge to Pheasant Run
Wells
Route 1 north and south closed at the intersection of Route 1 and Route 9
Westbrook
Methodist Road
Cumberland Street
New Gorham Road
Longfellow Drive
Thomas Drive
County Road (Route 22) at Smiling Hill Farm
High Street
Hammond Road
Mayfield Drive
Pershing Way
Windham
Falmouth Road between Nash Road and Route 202 is closed.
Falmouth Road between Route 202 and Varney Mill Road.
Windham Center Road is closed at McGoldrick Woods.
Route 302 by D&B Rental is down to one lane.
Route 202 at Newhall Road is closed to the Gorham Line.
Walter Partridge Road is closed at Route 202.
River Road at Newhall Road
York
Route 91 from the Mainr Turnpike to Route 236
I do believe this is going to take a long time to clean up.
Whoa! Wish I could help . . . I am grateful nothing serious happened here (that I am aware of)
Pixie, Take care and could you look outside to see if watersedge is floating by.
Hey I hope everyone is safe and not too much damage!! Really glad to have power again. ~38000 without power 'round the Cape. Our saltmarsh developed extra ponds, and branches down, we got off easy. Sure was wild wet and windy though.
My best to all who have been affected by all the latest.
Julia
Up date......
We now have 126,000 w/out power and because of the flooding in the roads there is alot that will most likely be w/o power for several days. The Portland Jet Port is even running on generators.
I noticed kdcon hasn't posted in a while, he lives in Alfred and that is one of the places hard hit and w/o power.
There is also 7 houses now in danger of fallen into the ocean at high tide tonight.
We also had our first fatality....a woman and her child tried to cross a flooded area and drowned. I fear it will only get worse as we still have 20 or so more hours of this storm.
My thoughts and prayers are with everyone touched by these storms, and the tragic incident in Virginia. Be careful, and be well.
--Ginny, a concerned Canuck
Good luck to all the Maine people recovering! The VA Tech massacre was horrific. We vacationed nearby two Summers ago and most of the kids working the resort went to Tech. Can't imagine what those families, some of whom probably have not been notified yet, must be feeling. How do they go on?
My thoughts are with everyone who is experiencing flooding, heavy snow fall, power outages, wind damage, etc. from the storm. In Glens Falls we only had a few inches of snow, lots of rain but no flooding locally. The Hudson River is high in back of me but I'm up on a bank with the canal between and it has never come close to us in the 30 years since we've lived here. It's been windy but I've seen much worse here. I've been busy with the baby all day but checked to see how the storm was affecting all of you late afternoon during his nap and saw you discussing Virginia Tech. You are keeping me up to date on more than gardening. I turned on the TV to the horrible news - I can't imagine why someone would do that. My heart goes out to the families and all involved. It's just awful.
Please stay safe. My thoughts and prayers are with everyone.
What a horrific day.
Horrible! We were very lucky here in Suffolk county - didn't get much but a windy, rainy day. How is everyone fairing up in NE???? Did the homes survive? I'm guessing they are summer homes and no one is currently living in them? Jeez - once the storm is over, then they have to deal with the cleanup! yikes! My thoughts are with you all!
Indeed, Dave.
On a weather report, yesterday, a man in New Jersey who lives on property with the river running behind it, spoke of losing his gardens to the river but seemed happy to have only lost his gardens. Compared to 32 sets of parents who can't replace what they've lost it's of no importance at all.
I agree pirl, we can rebuild our roads, house's and plant new trees, they can never replace what they lost in Va.
I have not heard anything about the house's so I assume they made it OK. The tide last night wasn't as bad as they had predicted because the wind had died down. Today the concern is for the river and streams as they are cresting at a rapid rate. As far as I'm concerned the worst is over and does not compare with the pain that those parents are dealing with this morning. My heart goes out to them and all who work and live in that area.
Edited: The news said the house's have been spared so far, but have slid off the foundations and are still in danger of slipping into the ocean.
This message was edited Apr 17, 2007 7:41 AM
wateredge finally makes it ashore, happy to see the power on and most of the trees cleared off the road.
Hi Watersedge! I'm glad you are ok! When I turned on the tv this morn and the weather map came on, it looks like you are still getting heavy rain and wind. The weather men only talked about ct, ri and ma so I'll have to tune in the weather channel to see what's going on up there!
Yea Watersedge.....you are a good swimmer!! Glad you made out OK...so many others did not.
The rivers and streams are the concern today...DB had to rescue his GF. Her house is on the river in Turner, Maine. Last night he noticed it was getting higher so he spent the night. Woke up at 6 this morning to find the water beating at the foundation and the tires to his car almost coverd. They got out of there and went to his house up in the mountains!! I think we will be hearing alot of these stories today.
Edited to say: I woke to SNOW again!!!!!
This message was edited Apr 17, 2007 8:13 AM
Yeah..............snow again. Honestly, I can't say that things have been so bad here. I know that there are many who've experienced trouble but it doesn't seem so bad on the 40+ miles of coast that I drive to work on.
A lot of people in Hancock County lost power but that's par for the course. I'd think it was worse inland where snow melt combined with lots of water had big ramifications down stream.
The ocean's awful muddy right now.
All is well here, never lost power, 1 big pine down, very lucky on this storm . Changed back to snow now. More fertilizer, free, so lucky.
Pixie, tried to post last nite but had a computer issue, all fixed. How did you make out ?
YankeeCat, prob to late but the only pump that go real low are the flat based ones or a pool liner pump and they will only get down to about 1/2 to 3/4 inch. Shop vac can be used ( remove filter 1st. ), empty water vaced up into a trash can w/ the pump in the can. Not fun. Lucky they have a neighbor like you.
My basement stays bone dry, but then I had the best Foundation Co. in Maine install it. :)
Stay safe all, going to check road
kdcon - yup, look like it is water vac time on Sunday for me. Putting the water in a trash can and getting it out with the pump is sooooo much better then trying to lug it up the basement stairs. My basement (they are really all crawlspaces - about 5' tall) will dry by itself with all the cracks that let water in, letting it back out. I also put a fan down there to move the air around and it is vented as well. I just need to help out my neighbors get their basements dry.
I fine kdcon, the wind destroyed my bird feeder and I got maybe an inch in the basement but the drain took care of it quickly.
This little guy got his fill on Sunday morning...or at least I hope so. Need to get a new feeder today as the birds have been landing on the deck looking for food.
Glad everyone is safe and not too much damage.
My local weatherman is stating beautiful weather this weekend, actually above norm temps(just a couple of degrees, but I'll take it). How is the weekend looking for everyone?
I'm hoping everyone has something nice to look forward to after this week!
This message was edited Apr 17, 2007 9:33 AM
I wonder how the Bay of Fundy looked at high tide!!!!!!
My weekend is looking terrific - I am making plans for the gardens - temperatures supposed to reach 72 degrees on Monday - with sun!
It is supposed to get nicer my way, by the weekend and into next week. Gradually making it to the 60's. At this point, I'll believe it when I see it....It's so depressing!
Gosh - all my life while living on the west coast we heard about the Bay of Fundy. Had this mental image of the ocean crashing up the channel - finally got to see it once we moved to the east coast, and guess what? The ocean laps in just the same as anywhere - though the difference between low and high tide might be substantial watching it was as much fun as watching grass grow. lap . . . .lap . . . .lap . .
I know in Narragansett at the towers, the waves were coming right over the seawall! A friend of mine went down there and said she parked next to the wall and the waves were splashing right over her car! And there were people actually walking around down there!! I'm too much of a non-risk taker for that!
Let's hope the weathermen are right, Seandor!
This message was edited Apr 17, 2007 10:07 AM
You are right, saanansandy. I have seen crashing surf at the Pacific Rim National Park on Vancouver Island - and it can be dangerous. Under storm conditions, there is no way I would be on the beach.
Glad to hear our friends in ME are OK!
My pump gets the water down to about 1/8 inch, but unfortunately, because the ground is saturated it keeps coming back in slowly. So we pump in cycles.
We keep returning to Hopewell Rocks just to see the tides. They are the world's largest tides.
I don't have a basement (living in a trailer) but I live on the side of a mountain. Everything gets washed away. And the clay soil is terrible. Making it hard to grow grass or anything in my backyard! So I will be working on finding grouncover that can handle all that. The good thing is, our woods in the back are literally filled with wild blueberries!
I do wish I lived by a bay or ocean, though. I love the sites, sounds and smells.
Someone answered in Dave's Question concerning weather news that they used NOAA Weather. I tried it and it is the most complete information anywhere.
NOAA.gov
We are under tornado alerts again with thunderstorms, lightening, hail and straight winds.
I pray for the people and their families at VT and for each of you as you endure.
This, too, shall pass.
LouC
Thanks LouC and stay safe.