carolina mefites: stay safe this weekend

October 2, 2015 6:25 PM

As #notjoaquin floods the Carolinas, in amounts the news is calling "historic," "thousand-year," and "life-threatening," we're watching the weather maps all night. Looks like half of each state is covered in rain already, and it keeps on moving further in. SC+NC mefites, are you okay? Staying safe? How bad is it where you are?

The weather stories have been confusing, and it has been hard to pin down how much rain to expect in any given area. For my area, I've heard everything from 5 inches to a foot over the space of the weekend. We've done some sandbagging in trouble spots just in case.

Are y'all okay out there? What are you doing to get through it? Are there any good weather sites you've been following? Wunderground's liveblog hasn't been updating fast enough for my worries.

posted by mittens to MetaFilter-Related at 6:25 PM (70 comments total)

Yikes, that looks bad! Stay safe everyone, and keep your cars parked high!

I had to run out of work in the pouring rain earlier this week to rescue my car, having stupidly parked it in a low-lying area. 5.8 inches of rain later, I got there just before the water did. Several colleagues were not as lucky. I'm pretty sure you can see some of their cars here.

So I guess what I'm saying is, keep an eye on that weather report.
posted by selfnoise at 7:11 PM on October 2, 2015 [2 favorites]

If anyone needs to get west, I've got a bed for any mefites in Kentucky. Just mail me
posted by deezil at 7:56 PM on October 2, 2015 [3 favorites]

My parents are in Savannah. I checked in on them earlier and here's the report.
posted by phunniemee at 8:00 PM on October 2, 2015 [4 favorites]

The rain system's been stuck over us for a couple weeks now. All that's changed is that the hurricane is preventing it from finally moving out to sea. We're not getting flooded by a hurricane, we're getting flooded due to boring old light-to-moderate rainfall that just happens to be going on for a ridiculously long time. So Hurricane Joaquin is relevant, though because it's hundreds of miles to the east of us, rather than despite it -- but that's the closest thing to a U.S-centric hurricane story the news networks can find, and they're all running with it. We've been on the verge of flooding even without the hurricane's pass-by.

I live in the Triangle (Raliegh/Durham/Chapel Hill), where we're protected somewhat from the worst of hurricanes and other bad weather due to the rolling terrain of the Piedmont foothills. The ground here is fully soaked and water puddles on top of the earth whether it's a lawn or an asphalt parking lot. I'm fortunate (knock on wood) to be in a new development built with good drainage paths -- I just inspected the ground around my front door and garage (where flooding would start if it was going to) and the only water is rain coverage, no pooling at all. The sewer systems in most parts of the Triangle are built for high volumes of water due to short, sudden violent rain showers being a regular occurrence, so they're likely to be able to keep up with the volume. Locally, the people getting the worst of this are in the older and poorer neighborhoods where the sewers are antiquated (or nonexistent) and properties don't have good drainage -- I can think of at least one neighborhood near mine where the lawn furniture is floating again. In the counties between the Piedmonts and the ocean there aren't as many places for water to go, and flooding is going to be much worse there. Save your hopes and prayers for them.

A coworker's parents live off the coast and had to be evacuated. That's the worst I've heard from anybody I know so far, although mostly because many of my coworkers hadn't shown up to work today due to school closings or telecommuting to keep an eye on their property or simply to avoid dealing with the roads.
posted by ardgedee at 8:00 PM on October 2, 2015 [4 favorites]

I'm in the Triangle as well, and it's just like ardgegee says. Lots and lots of moderate rain. I even mowed my lawn this afternoon when forecast.io told me I had a 30-45 minute dry spell coming. Any flooding in this area is going to be a drainage issue, not a gallons-per-minute issue, though it might be a different case a little further south. South Carolina may set a record for the rainiest month in history over the next THREE DAYS.
posted by Rock Steady at 8:13 PM on October 2, 2015 [2 favorites]

How bad is it where you are?

So far this evening I've had a steady drizzle, a roast loin, and a nice Spanish red.
posted by octobersurprise at 8:27 PM on October 2, 2015 [4 favorites]

Stay dry, mefites! The scariest flooding I ever dealt with in my many years in Houston was TS Allison and that was one of those saturated ground + rain dump things. Sandbag early and often.
posted by immlass at 9:33 PM on October 2, 2015

After a dry evening, though damp in the air, now comes the rain with purpose. I should probably have bought another 50 gallon barrel.

(Upstate SC is forecast to have it much worse, though.)
posted by holgate at 10:16 PM on October 2, 2015

I can not find two forecasts that agree for Western NC. Whatever is coming has just started. 4-10 inches. If it hits the upper range I am expecting trees across the roads out of here. Caught a trout with my hands when I went down to look at the creek. So there is that. Yum.
posted by Mr. Yuck at 11:26 PM on October 2, 2015 [3 favorites]

Wilmington is fine, just flooded. But we flood. Often. Not even doing callbacks at work, even though the county and state are under states of emergency.
posted by sara is disenchanted at 3:50 AM on October 3, 2015

Oh whoa, my family lives in Upstate SC and I hadn't paid much attention to this. I should probably go look at the weather forecast! I talked to my mom yesterday and she didn't mention anything about it. I mean, she said it was raining but didn't specify leftover hurricane raining.
posted by Kitteh at 4:10 AM on October 3, 2015

Charlotte checking in. Been raining steady since yesterday afternoon (well for the last week on and off actually...) decent amount of wind as well. Our plan right now is to venture out later this afternoon to see The Martian and then hold up at home the rest of the day.
posted by Captain_Science at 4:44 AM on October 3, 2015

Durham, NC reporting in Saturday morning. Same assessment as argeedee and Rock Steady, the rain is incessant but mild to moderate in volume at any one time. So far no leaks or anything in my house (knock wood). It's cold outside for the first time in ages, and the cat is snuggling. I might venture out to the store and make some cookies or something.
posted by Stewriffic at 5:48 AM on October 3, 2015 [5 favorites]

We can also send some love and concern up I-81 to our friends in southern Virginia. They already had flooding earlier this week in the Martinsville area and Roanoke, with more rain coming this week. My college-aged daughter lives near Roanoke in a 100-year-old house held together by duct tape, so my mind's elsewhere today.
posted by Sweetie Darling at 6:01 AM on October 3, 2015 [1 favorite]

I popped awake nervously at 4 am and checked outside, but it still hadn't started here. Now we're getting the steady drizzle, and the radar makes it look like we're only going to get the edge of the system for a few more hours. We live in a neighborhood that was built on a hill and has really inadequate storm drainage, where water just sort of dumps down from the street and our neighbors' yards to our yard, so we're still kinda jumpy.

But yeah, the cats are loving it. We've got the windows open, they're all puffed up to insulate themselves, doing a lot of lounging and snuggling then suddenly running off with their tails up. I might take a cue from them and just enjoy it and stop watching weather reports.
posted by mittens at 6:13 AM on October 3, 2015 [3 favorites]

I can report that we have finally perfected our not-too-sweet hot chocolate recipe.

Basically, 3c of milk-like liquid + 2.5 ounces chocolate:



heat until just shy of simmering:
- 2 c _unsweetened_ organic rice milk (must be rice milk, must be unsweetened)
- pinch salt
- "some" vanilla

add:
- 2.5 ounces semisweet chocolate chips (organic, I swear I can taste the difference)

let it melt a few seconds, then remove from heat and mix with immersion blender. Add and blend in:
- 1 c. whole milk

Time to drink it! Adding the cold milk at the end gets it to just the right temperature for drinking, but you can heat it more if you want.

vegan version: For the last cup of liquid, you could of course use rice milk, almond milk, or coconut milk; the whole milk adds just a bit of sweetness and "body". If you use non-whole milk, maybe compensate with a touch of sweetener and/or some whipped cream on top.

note on rice milk: This is better for drinking (and cereal) than soy milk, because of the flavor and, I think, digestibility (I use soy milk for baking/batters). Unsweetened is important for this recipe; look for the word "unsweetened" on the front of the box.

If you can only get regular (sweet) rice milk, which generally contains sugar to make it taste more like cow's milk, then I'd recommend using unsweetened chocolate -- but check the ingredients, because sometimes unsweetened chocolate doesn't contain cocoa butter, which is delicious.


This is delicious. Quite different from other hot chocolate, and a lot easier on the tummy.
posted by amtho at 6:18 AM on October 3, 2015 [13 favorites]

I'm in Raleigh and it's wet but unexciting. I did just realize I dreamed last night that the walls of my house had started to become saturated with water; we're on the tenth consecutive day of rain now and I guess the despair is starting to seep into my subconscious.
posted by something something at 6:38 AM on October 3, 2015 [2 favorites]

I managed to get out to the grocery store. Fritos and shredded cheese were on sale. Picked up some black beans and tomatoes. There will be chili in the pot later today.
posted by Stewriffic at 7:03 AM on October 3, 2015 [3 favorites]

Stewriffic, I think you have the right idea!

I'm in Durham, and yeah, rainy but doesn't seem to be causing any flooding here. It's kind of nice to have a snuggly day at home... though I'm sure by February I'll be sick of rainy stay-inside days. I'll be thinking about the folks further east though, where it's a bigger (and more dangerous) disruption. Stay safe, everyone!

Thanks for starting this thread.
posted by aka burlap at 7:25 AM on October 3, 2015

Columbia SC here. We were supposed to go to a wedding in Charleston tonight, but I've just been informed that the main interstate into there has been closed and anyone who's not in already isn't getting in (not that I imagine many people want into the peninsula at this point...). Columbia is supposed to be right in the same worst-of-the-worst band as Charleston - they're projecting something like 15-18 inches of rain total for us, last time I checked - but for the moment, at least, we seem to be solidly damp but not apocalyptic.

Like ardgedee said up above, we haven't really dried out for weeks at this point, so more rain just seems like more of the same. Our neighborhood is, at least in theory, fairly well insulated from flooding and utility loss even if it hits the rest of the city, so we don't expect this to be much more than annoying and uncomfortable in our house (it's also downright chilly out there!). That said, we laid in food and water supplies Thursday night and will probably not venture outside again except to walk the dog until the rainpocalypse is over on Sunday or Monday.
posted by Hold your seahorses at 7:26 AM on October 3, 2015

I'm in Durham, NC, and the biggest danger I've faced so far has been playing chicken with the occasional let up of rain to try and get outside to a good dog walk in before it starts pouring again. Now that that's accomplished, it's all about the dog, the cats, the couch, and snuggling. I'm pretty cool with this version of "hurricane", actually.

Also, I grew up in Victoria, BC, so this constant, never ending, wet, damp, chilly-in-your-bones thing is actually oddly homey and comforting to me. Pro tip for my neighbors who are unused to the relentless sogginess: put a pot of tea on while you bake some fresh and hearty bread. Nothing eats away at a damp chill better than a hot cuppa and the smell of bread just out of the oven (also, the extra carbs will soak up all the rain. True fakts)
posted by Dorinda at 7:51 AM on October 3, 2015 [1 favorite]

There's a lull right now; the rain has paused in Durham. An hour or so til more will come.
posted by amtho at 7:53 AM on October 3, 2015

excellent, I can walk down the street to get my early-voting done!
posted by aka burlap at 8:00 AM on October 3, 2015

Does anybody need cat sitting? Just checking.
posted by amtho at 8:16 AM on October 3, 2015 [2 favorites]

I decided that a picture is worth a thousand words. Or twelve, or something. Clockwise from top left: 1) taken looking out from my front door, note opposing pickups on my street in the rain, the unceasing, endless, streaming rain, 2) a poignant if slightly blurry and blown out closeup of the roses by my front door, wet, wet roses, 3) my dog Perdita, who is no fool, 4) wet fallen leaves on the little roof by my bedroom window, ah, fallen leaves, transience, mortality and rain and 5) me on the porch in a silly hat, because I have gone batshit insane.

More seriously I am not looking forward to driving to work this afternoon on roads that are usually flooded after only a little rainfall, and even less to driving home in the dark maybe on the highway crowded with maddened tourists. Or tomorrow or the next day when I think probably the rivers really will go over their banks again. Smallish fall floods are common here but this is starting to look a lot like 2004, when two hurricanes hit, the water mains burst and we had no water for ten days. Therefore I pounded a wine cork into the spigot hole of my long unused rain barrel and filled it up on Thursday night. My son, who works at a bar on a fire escape (ah, Asheville, you weird alcoholic Disneyland you) is losing a lot of money and consequently snarling around the house. Many people, I suspect, are starting to snarl around the house. But my house is mostly holding out and I put a plant under the roof leak in the living room; what else can one do?

It had been raining for seven years; thousands upon thousands of days compounded and filled from one end to the other with rain, with the drum and gush of water, with the sweet crystal fall of showers and the concussion of storms so heavy they were tidal waves come over the islands
posted by mygothlaundry at 8:16 AM on October 3, 2015 [13 favorites]

amtho, are you willing to cat sit from time to time for a diabetic cat? Cause I have that need.....

She's sooooo cute!
posted by Stewriffic at 8:24 AM on October 3, 2015

I can report that we have finally perfected our not-too-sweet hot chocolate recipe.

It says "perfected" but I ctrl-F'd Chambord and it just bonged at me :(

Downtown in Columbia, SC getting it pretty easy so far, just under 2" of rain in the gauge. Hope my friends in low-lying areas don't suffer from any property damage.
posted by ftm at 8:29 AM on October 3, 2015

For comparison purposes, I just uploaded 3 pictures from the 2004 Asheville floods.
posted by mygothlaundry at 9:00 AM on October 3, 2015

That was really something Goth. I lived on Joyner back then and both ends were under. When the water went down, my backyard was full of chickens. No idea where they came from.

Saw some flooding in downtown Hendersonville just now.
posted by Mr. Yuck at 9:41 AM on October 3, 2015 [1 favorite]

I send my wishes that all mefites and families in the area stay safe! out here in California its downright surreal to imagine so much rain, I wish we could take the extra off your hands. I spent some summers in my childhood in NC (Asheville area) its so so very pretty there, one of the loveliest places in America.

Stewriffic your kitty is so cute!
posted by supermedusa at 9:54 AM on October 3, 2015 [1 favorite]

I live in Garner, outside Raleigh. Today is Volunteer Firemen Appreciation today when they hold their parade on Main Street. I thought they might cancel, but I can hear the sirens right now because I live one block off of Main. It's coming down pretty hard so I'm guessing that there aren't a whole lot of Parade watchers.

They did go ahead and re-schedule SchnaOctoberFest. Which is good news because we want to meet up with all of the other Schnauzers in the area.

Rather than mow the lawn during our few minutes of Not Rain (which would have been the responsible thing to do) we took the dog for a bike ride and then we came home and watched her race around the backyard and have a drink from the new fountain.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 11:14 AM on October 3, 2015 [3 favorites]

Back from running errands in Durham. Rose's seemed busier than usual, although people were more interested in stocking up on storm-emergency pastries than in investigating the meat counter. Costco was crazy busy, but the people were chill, and they have their Christmas displays up already.

We hauled our stuff to the car and got in, and the first raindrops hit the window just as we closed the doors. Then there was a pause, and then the downpour hit. For once our timing was perfect. (And the weather was back to drizzle and light rain for the rest of our drive home.)
posted by ardgedee at 11:58 AM on October 3, 2015 [1 favorite]

Hm, I have a branch down. Looks rotten. That big tree had better be OK.
posted by Stewriffic at 2:01 PM on October 3, 2015

I'm in Durham as well. Haven't lost any utilities or trees, and have been taking long hot baths to get through the gloom.
Harris Teeter had a buy-two-get-three-free deal on sandwich fixings, so that's the emergency supplies.
posted by oceanjesse at 2:18 PM on October 3, 2015

In Chapel Hill. Nothing to report except that I went out in the rain to shop for records yesterday and thenseveral friends and I got kind of drunk last night and reminisced about Hurricane Fran and college and golly, that was nineteen years ago. Overnight the big dead oak branch, heavy with water, finally fell from the tree over my deck and crushed an azalea. Today, it's slightly drier and I have a hangover, but so far neither my basement nor my record store are flooded, so we're good to go.

Fun fact: the last time I enjoyed a real honest to God sunny day was ten days ago when I was in Ireland (seriously). A few more days of this and I'm going to have to start hanging out with a sun lamp and "Pet Sounds" or something.
posted by thivaia at 4:23 PM on October 3, 2015 [5 favorites]

Stewriffic - Although I was half/mostly joking about cat sitting, because it would be just _lovely_ to have a kitty in the house this weekend, we might actually consider it -- if the cat would be OK visiting us here where we could keep an eye on her condition.

We're experienced in stuff like giving subcutaneous fluids & meds (from fostering kittens and a difficult adult cat), but the logistics may not be the easiest for you (she'd need to visit here beforehand to reduce stress, and of course everything depends on how she'd adapt) -- but we do miss having a kitty around, for sure. We still have rope wrapped around our stair banister for cats to climb on.....

Also, I've read your other posts about her and she sounds so very nice. The degree to which you've adapted to her is completely charming, too.
posted by amtho at 10:19 PM on October 3, 2015

She is super adaptable! But no worries, I already have a good sitter for now. I am just always on the lookout, don't you know. This is what having kids must be like in some ways. I'm building up a cadre of possible sitters. :-)
posted by Stewriffic at 4:19 AM on October 4, 2015

This former Durhamite is made all homesick by the prospect of amtho catsitting for Stewriffic. I still miss "home" and always will.

Here in Atlanta, it's been raining continuously for 10 days, too, but we are in the area with 2-5 inches expected this weekend. It's mostly just frustrating because one of my students is supposed to be monitoring stormflow in a wetland, but for that to work we need discrete storms, with separation in between them, not 10 days of rain.
posted by hydropsyche at 4:45 AM on October 4, 2015

Thanks for this post, I hadn't realized this was an issue, and now I know to call my parents when they'll be awake. It looks like Morehead isn't too bad, hopefully that's right.

Fran was 19 years ago? That can't be, I was almost 13...oh, right. That storm was a nightmare if only for getting far enough strong enough that it got to us in Apex where the giant oak trees weren't ready for the wind. We lost our deck, were trapped in our street until the neighborhood chainsawed our way out, and missed over a week of school (I liked that part). I wound up living further east and through several more hurricanes, but that one was the worst.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 5:41 AM on October 4, 2015 [1 favorite]

Addendum to hot chocolate recipe: Guittard semisweet chocolate wafers (also organic, but I wasn't looking for that) are the best by far. Oh my.
posted by amtho at 7:30 AM on October 4, 2015

We've had rain off and on here for the past few days in Lumberton (about half an hour from Fort Bragg) but no major flooding yet - thankfully. We were going to head up to the mountains this week but decided to postpone it after looking at the weather reports.

Bulgaroktonos: Yeah, I remember Fran too. I work for the US Postal Service, and I volunteered to work during the storm (crazy at the time, I know). It's the first time I can remember the city imposing an evening curfew - we had to be off the streets by 8 pm, and there were police cars patrolling the streets to make sure the curfew was enforced.
posted by Telpethoron at 7:51 AM on October 4, 2015

Fran happened within the first couple of weeks, or maybe up to a month after I moved to Chapel Hill. I slept through it and had very little damage to my apartment. The UNC campus, however, lost something like 1/3 of its old growth trees. The rootballs were more than a story high in some cases.
posted by Stewriffic at 8:04 AM on October 4, 2015 [2 favorites]

We got married yesterday on the Crystal Coast (south of the Outer Banks in North Carolina, north of Wilmington). It rained like Noah, no one really got their promised beach vacation, and we had to move the venue inside and couldn't be married riverside like we planned. :-(

But it was really no big deal, not even that much flooding, and hey, we still ended up married!

Wedding hashtag #joaquindowntheaisle
posted by chainsofreedom at 11:42 AM on October 4, 2015 [27 favorites]

Hey, congratulations!
posted by heyho at 11:44 AM on October 4, 2015

Yay for your wedding! (First anniversary gift, those little paper cocktail umbrellas.)
posted by mittens at 12:43 PM on October 4, 2015 [2 favorites]

Thanks for checking.

Reporting in from the land side of North Topsail Beach. I've had 10.5 inces of rain this week on top of 5.5 inces last week. After work yesterday, I spent three hours digging a ditch from my new lake to the roadside ditch. After work today, and more rain, the roadside ditch is cresting and my little ditch is backfilling.... all I have are blisters from my efforts.

Still, this is NOTHING like hurricane Floyd (yet) where the entire area was cut off, interstates flooded, etc for weeks. My nephew's house is 9 feet up on pilings on the NE Cape Fear River - during Floyd there was 18" of water in the house. Everything that falls upstate, comes downhill once the ground is saturated. The next week is my concern.

Folks in SC have it the worst.

Kitties and I are managing OK for now. They are inside only, so it doesn't matter to them as long as food and scritches are abundant. I'm taking a day off from my weekday job tomorrow - we'll see how the weather is then....
posted by mightshould at 2:13 PM on October 4, 2015 [1 favorite]

Congrats chainsoffreedom! My cousin got married yesterday in NC too--the rain let up just long enough for the (short) ceremony to start and complete.

Happy for my family; bummed that as of this week, there is one fewer covered bridge remaining in Virginia. I have pix of me and a friend hanging out there, and now the bridge and friend have both passed.
posted by infinitewindow at 3:16 PM on October 4, 2015 [1 favorite]

Greets from the Piedmont, about halfway between Chapel Hill/Durham and Greensboro. We've also had that consistent rain for more than a week. Now I'm mostly worried about continuing winds knocking over trees (more).
posted by mfu at 3:22 PM on October 4, 2015

Checking in from a barely accredited state university 90 minutes east of Raleigh. As others have said, it's been raining since mid-September, and recently Joaquin has added a pleasingly virile breeze to the mix, but our troubles don't extend too far beyond "oh for the love of god" and "so sick of this shit."

However, my mom and sister live about 20 minutes south of Myrtle Beach, and as of a couple hours ago "the duck pond in the backyard" had become "the duck pond on the patio." There's up to five more inches of rain expected tonight, and not much of a distance between the patio and the living room, so it looks like it's curtains for the carpeting. And possibly the curtains.

I hasten to add that they'll both be safe no matter what happens: their house isn't a flash flood zone, so if the water from the pond does seep into the house, it'll be more George Romero than Zach Snyder. They'll just go upstairs and wait for it to drain back out again. It'll just be a lot of stress and a tremendous pain in the ass for everyone afterwards, including your humble narrator.
posted by Ian A.T. at 3:49 PM on October 4, 2015 [4 favorites]

There was some footage of Columbia, South Carolina on the local news a few minutes ago showing water nearly covering cars and people being evacuated from their homes by boat - we have definitely missed the worst of it here in the Triangle area.
posted by something something at 4:03 PM on October 4, 2015

Holding steady in our area of Columbia (well outside of downtown). Some neighbors in another subdivision were out kayaking in their front yard earlier today, but other than a small roof leak where wind seems to have blown up some siding, we're still warm, powered, and dry (relatively speaking). The city is under curfew for the night, so in we are, and in we're staying. Rumor has it the police are patrolling for any restaurants, etc that are still open and ordering them to shut down, presumably so as not to entice any of us numskulls into trying to drive through flooding to get to them. I imagine emergency services have got better things to do tonight than fish hungry idiots out of water they didn't need to drive into except for a pressing urge for pizza.
posted by Hold your seahorses at 4:10 PM on October 4, 2015

They can't possibly be shutting down the Waffle Houses!
posted by ardgedee at 7:14 PM on October 4, 2015 [1 favorite]

Thanks for the well-wishes, everyone! There were several weddings this weekend in the area - we heard the "if it rains on your wedding day, it's good luck!" chestnut many times, that's for sure. I guess we will be extra lucky.

The flooding seems to be the biggest problem right now - many of the seawalls are just not up to the wind, especially the ones on the rivers (river-walls? Is that a thing?)
posted by chainsofreedom at 5:05 AM on October 5, 2015

Mefites in the Triangle/Triad: how is I40? I'm supposed to make my way to winston today, but I'm waiting for the weather to clear fayettenam first.
posted by sara is disenchanted at 7:54 AM on October 5, 2015

It's a non-issue, sara is disenchanted. It's barely rained here at all in over 24 hours.
posted by something something at 7:56 AM on October 5, 2015

Sweet. Looks like I'll be heading west to pick up my parents' puppy. He's going to come stay at the beach for the next few months!
posted by sara is disenchanted at 8:42 AM on October 5, 2015

It looks like Columbia is really getting hit hard. Lots of updates here. The latest news is that several hospitals there are without water; a very bad situation reminiscent of Katrina. I wonder if they will evacuate patients to Augusta, GA, where I am.
posted by TedW at 8:43 AM on October 5, 2015 [2 favorites]

Boil water advisory here in Columbia; our taps are still running but we're to be careful with anything that comes out of them. Just heard some some of my in-laws' friends elsewhere in town are being evacuated. We're still doing ok where we are, but roads are just assumed to be dangerous unless proven otherwise because the flood waters are flowing so hard even where they look still. Power browned out last night for a bit but then came back (we're lucky to be smack on the...trunk line? or whatever you'd call the area where power gets restored first because everything branches off from there). The rain has quit for the moment, but we're doubtful that it will ever stop for real. It's just going to rain forever. Always and forever rain. Maybe we'll build an ark.
posted by Hold your seahorses at 8:54 AM on October 5, 2015 [2 favorites]

I'm in Columbia. No water from the taps for two days. People being evacuated from their homes in boats in my neighborhood. Lots of road closures from sinkholes and the like. Schools closed today and tomorrow so I have to be around my kids all day. Glad your hot chocolate is easy on your tummy and Durham and Asheville are their usual magical twinkling fairy lands. Fucking Mefites, I swear to God. Send money.
posted by ND¢ at 12:15 PM on October 5, 2015 [5 favorites]

One of the dams in Columbia (Overcreek Bridge dam) is on its way out. National Guard and police are evacuating people downstream from there, as mandatory an evacuation as is possible given that there's always going to be some people who refuse to go. I get the impression it's expected to be a pretty major disaster when/if it goes (the first dam breaking is likely to cause a cascade failure of dams farther down the line) and they're hoping to confine it to loss of property rather than life. We're over on the Lake Murray side of town, where things seem to be pretty under control, and they're saying the LM dam, and thus our house, is in no danger.

ND¢, I hope you guys stay safe - the more I hear about the dams, the more worried I get about pretty much everyone else in Columbia. Keep us updated so we can be sure you're ok!
posted by Hold your seahorses at 2:37 PM on October 5, 2015 [1 favorite]

NE NC checking in here - we got a lot of rain, a bunch of blustery winds, but nothing like SC. We have some local roads flooded but the main roads are clear/elevated so travel is unimpeded.

Husband and I went out to the Outer Banks (Kill Devil Hill area) yesterday to check out the waves and they were ferocious.
posted by bookdragoness at 2:38 PM on October 5, 2015

Send money.

But keep the guns and lawyers. We're all stocked up there.
posted by octobersurprise at 4:51 PM on October 5, 2015

Yeah, I can see how the recipe could be infuriating. Sorry about that. I hope that things go OK down there and will be following the news -- thanks for updating this thread.
posted by amtho at 3:52 AM on October 6, 2015

Sorry I'm grumpy. I don't do well with long periods of time without being able to shower. Me and mine are fine. This has been a very selective disaster. My house has minor leaks in the roof that can be fixed in a day; people two streets over lost everything. As long as the dams hold as the water that fell everywhere Sunday flows into the lakes and rivers, we should be through the worst of it.
posted by ND¢ at 7:45 AM on October 6, 2015

The University of South Carolina just announced that they are cancelling classes for the rest of the week, in part to avoid the strain that having all those people commuting into the city will place on the precarious infrastructure. I have tickets for the football game on Saturday, and have been watching to see if that will be cancelled or rescheduled. If not, I think it will say something about the school's priorities.
posted by TedW at 9:32 AM on October 6, 2015

They're looking at the possibility of playing in Baton Rouge is the latest I've heard. I think it's unlikely they'll play in Columbia on Saturday; the water advisory might not even be lifted by then. But I don't know.

(Thus ends my only comment ever on Gamecock football. Let the record show that I was driven to it by an act of God.)
posted by octobersurprise at 11:42 AM on October 6, 2015 [2 favorites]

More dams under threat, more Columbia residents being urged to evacuate. We're still safe where we are, but husband and I are getting out of Dodge this morning and heading north on scheduled travel, where presumably there will be less fear, uncertainty, doubt, and rushing water (but also less pleasant temperatures...).
posted by Hold your seahorses at 4:54 AM on October 7, 2015 [1 favorite]

If any SC mefites need a way-station, memail me and I can provide some lodging at my home in NC (as long as you like cats...)

Course, on metafilter, there always has to be cats wedged in.
posted by mightshould at 6:48 AM on October 7, 2015 [2 favorites]

Yeah, if you don't mind 2 cats and 1 teenager we have a comfy guest room with a queen bed in southern Wake county.
posted by Rock Steady at 8:26 AM on October 7, 2015 [1 favorite]

I have a cat, an extra bedroom (two twin beds) with its own gorgeous bathroom, and actually a need for some cat sitting. In Durham.
posted by Stewriffic at 5:58 PM on October 7, 2015 [2 favorites]