flooding here and there

FLOODING HERE AND THERE
 
when we lived at the country n near austin when it rained it tended to rain in bunches
we lived about a quarter of a mile from a river 
we simply walked a path along the fence line in our neighbors pasture down to the river

when it was during the dry season like the summer the water flow slowed a lot
where we wanted to we could on low water days walk across the river

once during the severe drought the river slowed to a trickle but it never completely dried up
during that time i walked the river bed from our entry point to a bridge that was about 3 hours walking distance on a mostly dry bed
there were deep pools of water along the way some had large fish swimming around in them

it was a beautiful solitary walk i wish i could duplicate
no sounds just birds and squirrels

that was the last time in the 17 years we lived there that i was able to walk the river bed
the bluffs were beautiful

when we would get a gully washer rain that river would become a raging river that would go over some of the high banks 


the highway in front of our house was about a half a mile to a low water crossing near an old country church
if the water got high enough it would flood the roadway
you can see it in that picture above flooded
there is in the upper left of that picture a water mark post that i think went to 4 feet
i saw it at 4 feet more than once
it usually flooded the church when that happened

folks have got washed off the road there before
once a caseworker with several kids got washed off the road and floated down the stream about hundreds of feet away 
they managed to get on the roof top before they were rescued

once when i was going to work early before the sun came up
i didnt know we had a heavy rain that early morning
i was driving a small light car
as i hit the water which i never saw rushing across the roadway i could feel the car floating
then
luckily 
i felt the momentum of my car push it far enough that the tires got traction and pulled me from the water
i might have been on the evening news if i had not got through

when we got heavy rain we would get flooded in so we couldnt leave until the water rescinded 

in the central texas area we are used to driving in rain and gulley washers
you dont drive fast
you dont drive too close to others
you dont go through flooded streets or highways
its best to stay home

ive noticed here when it floods folks arent as safe

santa barbara is sandwiched between the mountains and the ocean
our beaches face south
our mountains are mostly north
the water runs down hill

if you are on a bicycle in northern santa barbara you can almost coast from the foothills to the beaches without ever pedaling
so does the rain flow that way

it also rains more in the foothills and mountains than it does where we live in the middle of the city

there are creeks and rivers that flow from the mountains to the ocean
they are shaped like a y
as the water goes down hill it gets higher and faster

we have a creek about a block away that was a raging river even before the rain got worse
luckily it never came over its banks where we lived
but
it did as it got closer to the ocean
some of the pictures on the national news of the santa barbara flood is from our creek flooding down there

then in montecito where oprah and ellen and william live they always seem to get hit the hardest
the 101 freeway that runs through this area was shut down for a few days in the montecito area

luckily all this rain has filled up the reservoir lakes here
one the biggest is almost to the point where they will have to release water into the river below the dam
look out encampments on the river bed down stream

i feel comfortable driving around here during the rains
it makes me feel at home
locals dont always feel comfortable here during the rain

it makes me think of central texas when it snows
folks sort of go crazy driving 
folks who have lived in the northern climates they say oh this is nothing

luckily no one died here from the flooding that i know of
im surprised
i must say the local fire departments and police departments and road departments do a good job of preparing for the flooding before it happens

i dont like the flooding here vs the country n
there i knew what to do
here it just feels unsafe i guess cause that mountain sits up there above us and it could send lots of rain rock and debris on us 

of course 90%+ of the time the weather here is just perfect

im glad i lived in texas so i know how to survive in flooding

the organicgreen doctor