"...they give us those nice bright colors
they give us those greens of summer
makes you think all the world's a sunny day
I got a Nikon camera
I love to take a photograph
So, mama, don't take my kodachrome away..."
Kodachrome by Paul Simon
Today, homes destroyed by the floods are being totally taken down and leveled.
Colleen and her neighbor, Liz are gathering photo collections from the ruined houses and attempting to preserve and reclaim them from the waters which have drenched them. (Colleen teaches photography and Liz restores documents for the library at USC).
I have seen some of these snapshots of graduates in their robes holding their diplomas, new babies stretching out on their blankets, yearly Christmas celebrations, the same people getting older, new ones joining, some disappearing, sweethearts hugging in front of their cars, family chronicles beyond value.
Sunday, October 18, 2015
Friday, October 9, 2015
October 8, 2015 The Columbia Canal
"I have known rivers
I've known rivers ancient as the world
and older than the flow of blood in human veins"
Langston Hughes "The Negroe Speaks of Rivers"
Now where I have so often walked between the Columbia Canal and the Congaree, the canal has broken and flowed over its banks in two places. The banks of the canal where the bodies of the Leetmen workers are burried are exposed and bare. The canal flows into the water treatment plant and is the source of drinking water for half of Richland County. Workmen have tried to shore up the banks unsuccessfully so far and are making efforts to force some of the Congaree flood into the water treatment plant.
Those fortunate ones on higher ground who have not been evacuated have been forced to stay home from work and school are boiling their water and and having neighborhood cookouts. The children think it is fall break and are playing with the friends. There is a communal spirit of survival. From all over the state and far away, clean water is being shipped in.
It is not over. The flood waters are moving quickly down to the Low Country. Georgetown is bracing for the flow of the Pee Dee and Black Rivers into the Waccamaw. Wynyah Bay will be flooded.
I've known rivers ancient as the world
and older than the flow of blood in human veins"
Langston Hughes "The Negroe Speaks of Rivers"
Now where I have so often walked between the Columbia Canal and the Congaree, the canal has broken and flowed over its banks in two places. The banks of the canal where the bodies of the Leetmen workers are burried are exposed and bare. The canal flows into the water treatment plant and is the source of drinking water for half of Richland County. Workmen have tried to shore up the banks unsuccessfully so far and are making efforts to force some of the Congaree flood into the water treatment plant.
Those fortunate ones on higher ground who have not been evacuated have been forced to stay home from work and school are boiling their water and and having neighborhood cookouts. The children think it is fall break and are playing with the friends. There is a communal spirit of survival. From all over the state and far away, clean water is being shipped in.
It is not over. The flood waters are moving quickly down to the Low Country. Georgetown is bracing for the flow of the Pee Dee and Black Rivers into the Waccamaw. Wynyah Bay will be flooded.
Wednesday, October 7, 2015
October 2,3,4 Columbia, the One Thousand Year Flood
"All the springs of the vast watery deep were broken and he floodgates of the heavens were opened"
Lying in my bed on Friday night, I listened to the pouring down of water, pouring, pouring, pouring, not driven by the wind, coming straight down in torrents. During the day on Saturday, the downpour lessened, but again on Saturday night, the pouring continued, lessening again during the day Sunday but continuing into the night. On Monday afternoon, there was a space of blue sky and on Tuesday, the rain stopped and the sun appeared over the soakened ground. Across the road from my house, the Lawson's Ford roared over its banks and crashed down the spillway.
The rivers of the Upstate and the mountains are carrying the vast flood to meet in Columbia where they have had two feet of rain. I dreamed that the ghost of my sister came to help with the flood that is enveloping Columbia where Michael and John and their families are staying home, boiling their water and under curfew from 6 pm to 6 am. John takes shifts with the Emergency Staff meeting 24 hours a day in their office near the Farmer's Market on 321.
The watersheds of the Edisto, flowing to the South and The Great Pee Dee flowing from the North are carrying the water to the sea and flooding the towns along the way. Manning is underwater. 19 dams have broken.
The Edisto at Givhans Ferry is calculated to crest on Sunday at 16.5 feet.
In recorded history, there has not been a flood like this in South Carolina. The devastation is worse than Hurricane Hugo
Lying in my bed on Friday night, I listened to the pouring down of water, pouring, pouring, pouring, not driven by the wind, coming straight down in torrents. During the day on Saturday, the downpour lessened, but again on Saturday night, the pouring continued, lessening again during the day Sunday but continuing into the night. On Monday afternoon, there was a space of blue sky and on Tuesday, the rain stopped and the sun appeared over the soakened ground. Across the road from my house, the Lawson's Ford roared over its banks and crashed down the spillway.
The rivers of the Upstate and the mountains are carrying the vast flood to meet in Columbia where they have had two feet of rain. I dreamed that the ghost of my sister came to help with the flood that is enveloping Columbia where Michael and John and their families are staying home, boiling their water and under curfew from 6 pm to 6 am. John takes shifts with the Emergency Staff meeting 24 hours a day in their office near the Farmer's Market on 321.
The watersheds of the Edisto, flowing to the South and The Great Pee Dee flowing from the North are carrying the water to the sea and flooding the towns along the way. Manning is underwater. 19 dams have broken.
The Edisto at Givhans Ferry is calculated to crest on Sunday at 16.5 feet.
In recorded history, there has not been a flood like this in South Carolina. The devastation is worse than Hurricane Hugo
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