The Great Nashville Monsoon of 2010 - our little bit of it

Greetings from Nashville!  Over the past two days, we like many others in our area were  flooded with the heavy rains that fell.

Our basement was a grubby swimming pool, and we had (and still have) minimal power in an effort to turn off the basement electricity (which, in some places, is on the same line as upstairs!! Ug!) , and no gas (which means no stove, no hot water, etc.)  But the day dawned bright and clear Monday and we are slowly pumping out the estimated 15,000 - 18,000 gallons of water that filled up our large basement starting on Saturday night.

Here's what it looked like Sunday night and it got about 5 inches deeper before reaching it's final level.  You can't tell, but the water comes to the top of my thighs in this picture.  (About 2.5-3 feet)  It's not totally level, so some areas are deeper.

I wasn't able to get into the 'finished' room to take pictures in there, but the sheet rock in there is ruined.  It'll be a job to pull it all out!

Since most of the area was hit by this as well, sump pumps, fans, and dehumidifiers are going to be in pretty sharp demand for awhile.  The local DIY tool stores are not able to keep up with current demand.  We do have a plan, and thanks to Dave Ramsey, an emergency fund for events such as this

Today, after many, many promises of pumps, one finally arrived and in just a few hours, the floor of our basement was again visible.  "Carter" and his "water team" entertained us while they pumped water out. 

Libby shows Cora her mermaid doll

Later "Carter's" wife and third child joined us and we had a nice little chat on the back yard  lawn.  Cora enjoyed playing with one of the "water team's" mermaid doll.  Did I mention that the water team was two little girls?  Yes.  It was.  And they had so much fun!

Cora hangs out with Papa we slog around in the 'pond'.

 You can see how high the water got!  We are hoping our hot water heater and furnace are OK, but it looks doubtful.

So tomorrow we will rent dehumidifiers, borrow some more fans and start demolishing the soggy sheet rock.  Sounds like fun huh? If you want to join in, bring a hammer, a shovel and some work gloves!