We’re big believers in preparedness. And being ultra-creative as we are, we tend to think ahead on the many possibilities to be prepared for.  Our preparedness this year was stepped up in some major ways. In other respects, we weren’t as ready as needed for the season’s first big storm in our part of the world.

There are many good Websites on steps that can be taken to prepare for hurricanes, tropical storms and other weather emergencies. They’re well worth a look in advance of the storms to get properly informed and prepared.
This two-part blog includes steps that go beyond those most thought of (like getting batteries, extra food, fueled gas tanks, and such). We offer them in hopes they will make a difference for others in storms to come.

Many Steps Taken Proved Too Few

 “Piece of cake” is what I thought as we were well into day two of Fay’s effects. We were told that the storm’s main character was “a lot of rain”. The rain was indeed pretty non-stop when the bands arrived our way. But absent, thank goodness, were the high winds, lightening and heaviness of the downpours.

Then the other shoe dropped, and with it truckloads of rain at a rapid race that our preparations were no match for.

We almost lost our offices and conference center in the process – the contents of them, that is, which was our major focus.

We had the foresight to have a 12 inch high (removable) wood barrier put in place (with attached brackets) along the most vulnerable point for water intrusion as the first line of defense , along with three heavy concrete barriers (four feet wide a piece) backed up by a mass of sandbags. This was at the main entrance which is a gap between two hefty concrete walls.   The system helped … but the flash floods were beyond anything we had imagined – in the volume of water, the speed of the flow and how fast it all started.

Just when we thought the storm was ending, the deluge let loose and water began pouring over the carefully crafted barriers (and, in parts, under), not just at the main entrance but at the sides to plazas and other access points ... to where it appeared we were going to quickly be submerged.

Two of us were on-site at the time and had no choice but to work for almost 8 hours straight in the rain, scrambling to bolster the barriers plus dig new channels for the sudden river of water that appeared.

At the point when it looked like we could no longer deter the gushing flow, the weather channel spoke the dreaded news that the current local conditions would be continuing for three more hours.

Then came the good news … within a few minutes the rain subsided to the point of allowing the area to drain and, hallelujah,  the heavy rains ended.

We made it through what could have been a disastrous event, exhausted but enlightened for the future. With Hurricane Season still being in full swing (and other storms year round throughout the globe), our next blog will share insights from the experience to make things easier for others in this and future storm seasons.