SLAM!

[Guest]

That was the sound a gal by the name of Isabel made when she went through the Richmond area Thursday night. She beat on us from morning until after midnight. The good news was we had LOTS of rain. In fact, the amount was immeasureable due to the rain drops traveling horizontally . It was estimated that we got up to 10 inches. Our house and property were fine. A 60 year-old oak tree sustained severe pruning and we will eventually lose it. Other than that, no additional damage.

The bad news is we got SLAMMED! And hard ! Our neighborhood and two adjacent neighborhoods plus other areas around Richmond have power lines, poles, and trees down all over the place. I do not anticipate having electrical power for another 7 days (I'm at my wife's work using her computer) . The morning after the storm, every street in our area was blocked by trees. Nobody could get out until later that morning after us neighbors banded together with chain saws, bow saws, and axes to clear some of the trees out of the way. MANY homes were tagged by falling trees. We lost electrical power, the underground phone lines, our cell phone service, and water pressure. A LOT of trees were lying on roads over fallen power lines so we have to wait for the crews to come out and remove them, then replace the broken power line poles, fix the power lines and then we will have electricity again . We have an electric water heater so we are without hot water (I lost my enthusiasm for cold showers during my first one).

Saturday morning, we finally got our cell phone service back and I had AT LEAST 5 messages from PAC to call him ("Where are you?!"). Rain would not have kept me away from the armada-heck, I initiated the organization for the trip! I'm glad to hear y'all got on some other really cool rivers. I really wish I could have been there.

As of today, we got hit by another storm that brought two tornados that did some more damage to the area (adding insult to injury). We have our phone lines working again, but they keep dropping out as crews keep hitting them during their repair efforts. There are still trees overhanging streets that are being held up only by the power lines. Kinda scary. We took some pics yesterday (day 4 after the storm) and I may be able to post them once things normalize.

Mike and I did get to paddle the flooded James on Sunday and it was a REALLY good day of surfing and having fun. Not as good as what we wanted in West Virginia, but it did the trick. It is truly wonderful to see the amount of hospitality neighbors and friends are extending to others who are without (hot showers, hot coffee) and helping with the clean-up.

I'm still planning on going to the Ocoee in October. Wish us luck!

KNeal

[Sir Adam]

Glad to hear you survived it! For better or worse, we get a good ice or snow storm every 3 years or so that keeps things pruned for a bit, though we do tend to lose power once every two months or so .

The ice storm of '98 really pruned things as well (as did the micro-burst of '95 that took down 40,000 acres of trees in the Adirondacks).

Are you SURE you don't want to head up to the Hudson Armada? Great fall foliage, and the river's rising as I type (LOTS of rain here too at the moment).

[PAC]

We were concerned with your well being! Your usually KNeal on the spot! The original Mr. O (as in organized)! So when your name was MIA on the camp site's list Warren and I started to wonder!
I'm glad to hear you, the wife and Mike are well and things are starting to get back to order.
As for the weekend - Bernie stepped up and took over! So he is now Mr. O2, or is that H2O!
Take care and stay safe!

[Mike W.]

Kneal & other Richmonders, Man, I didn't know that y'all got slammed so badly. I hope that everyone is safe. I got power at home Sunday night & cable tonight. I dumped my rain gauge twice & measured a total of 8.5" here.

I've been busy deploying generators to cell sites so that folks can use their cell phones. We sent a fuel truck to VA to help them keep their generators fueled. We still need spans to be repaired for a handfull of sites that have been OOS since Thursday. Power is coming back to many sites now. Believe it or not all of our cell sites on the outer banks from Ocracoke to Duck (including Hatteras) are on the air. There are many crews out working on power, water systems, landline telephone and cellular telephone networks, as well as clearing roads of downed trees.

Mike W.

[Neal]

As of today, crews came through and cut all the trees off of the power lines that were overhanging the streets (that means a LOT of trees were removed). We have our water service back to normal, the tap water was tested and finally cleared to drink, cook with, and shower with after 5 days of warnings not to drink the tap water for fear of E-coli and giardia contamination (false warnings however). Land line phones are working normal, until they get hit again by the crews that are replacing the power line poles. Cell phone service is working (thanks, Mike W.! ). We still have no electricity and no hot water.

Reports now say our area may not be restored for at least 2 weeks . I am hoping and praying that they are giving us the worst case scenario and the crews are actually working faster than that. I heard on the radio that approximately 48,000 miles of power lines have to be replaced, so they are doing a rebuilding job instead of repairing. What is truly amazing to see is the number of power company trucks that are in the Richmond area. They have come from states like: Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, the Carolinas, and Texas! That is truly a blessing and I do get somewhat choked up seeing those guys out here, away from their families, getting the job done and staying here until the job IS done-however long it takes!

Thank you, "Sir" Adam, Mike W., and PAC, for your thoughts and for Bernie for being the "Organizer-On-The-Spot". To all you c-boaters out there, please keep posting your adventures and mis-adventures. As I am able to get to my wife's work computer, I will be visiting this site, reading what y'all post and keeping you up-to-date. Your posts will definitely help me along.

KNeal

[sbroam]

We, further south and spared Isabel's wrath, can forget what you guys are still going through after it falls from the front page news - thanks for keeping us posted. Good thing she lost some strength before coming ashore, imagine how bad that could have been...