The people who are getting rain, are getting too much, and other areas are in drought conditions.
]]>This is also likely to put a spike in corn and soybean prices. We were having a fairly dry end to the summer until three days ago. Now there’s standing water in a lot of fields and even though most of the crops are mature, there’s bound to be some rot or fungal damage. Depending on how long it takes to drain and dry out, it may also be a late harvest, with the potential for further damage. So I anticipate a rise in food prices for the new year.
]]>I know that after 24 hours the sound was driving me up the wall and the power was out, so you didn’t want to turn up the volume on the radio to overpower it, because it used up batteries [or required more frequent cranking].
Too bad we can’t ship some of this West where they need it.
]]>I live on fairly high ground out in the suburbs. The rain water runs down my driveway and into the street, so the only water I get is a bit of seepage in the crawl space. The sump pump kept running… that’s how saturated the ground is. All around my town the sewers were bubbling and some streets were flooded. I don’t have a basement. Most homes in the midwest have them. They are good for flooding and collecting junk you should have thrown away, so I don’t really miss not having one.
Chicago has been trying to fix it’s sewage and storm water system for years going back to the late 1800’s when they reversed the flow of the Chicago River to carry the sewage away from Lake Michigan. The latest is the Deep Tunnel Project which will eventually move storm water to reservoirs. Unfortunately the city still floods and excess wastewater gets pumped into the lake (or backs up into those basements. Yuk.)
Part of the problem is the city was built, literally, in the mud, only slightly above water level with no drainage system (as Tux said). In the mid 1800’s the city raised all the streets about 15 feet. In some cases the building were raised, others were moved to new locations and still others were left in place and the people moved to the second floor and added a new stairway and a door! There are many Chicago neighborhoods that still have entire blocks of homes that are built below street level. My aunt lived in a house like that, so did my grandparents; as a kid I thought it was normal to have the first floor under the street. Today, a lot of those old sidewalks crumbling … leaving a gaping hole 15 feet to the old street down below. Chicago is an interesting city.
To make things worse, anyone living near a river or stream has that problem to deal with along with the overtaxed sewer system. It will be a few rough days here while we dry out. Actually, it’s been a weird weather year. I hope the upcoming winter is calm. 😐
]]>I wouldn’t bet on no rain with Ike just finishing up and hauling a lot of moisture North, but it may pass to the East.
I’m not sure that the people in Louisiana are going to be thrilled that there’s that much extra water in the Mississippi after the effects of Gustav and Ike.
]]>So Chicago is not only full of water, it’s full of shitty water.
– Badtux the Sewage Penguin
]]>I blame it on Duncan Hunter’s San Ysidro border fence, Jill. It has to be annoying to know that six-inches of rain that started out as Pacific Ocean water got dumped thousands of miles away.
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