Amsterdam Flooding ~ March 6-7, 2014

 

We like Dry Creek Bible Church! If you ever want to listen to an excellent service, Pastor Jim can be heard on this site. Or come join us!

 

Our friend and neighbor, Dylan, comes with us.

 

The youth group room downstairs and game room.

 

 Matthew's favorite science experiment, making the cork pop off by mixing lemon juice and baking soda.

 

Sharing a milkshake at the restaurant.

 

 

 

A big snowman by all four!

 

 

The road going from Huffine Lane to the walk-in freezer Dad and Adam use. Had a blizzard this past weekend, March 2-3!

 But unusual high temperature's melt all the snow quickly off the fields a few days later, wednesday, March 6th...

 

and Amsterdam is in the news with flooding as the runoff overflows Camp Creek. The ground is still frozen, nothing sinks in, just overflowing to downstream.

 

across the road from the baseball field

 right next to the baseball field

 

Haven't had this in about 50 years. It's ice water, but the snowman is quickly melting from the warm air temperature in just a few days after being built!

 Dad out to help direct the water away from their backyard. Things change in a hurry and is hard to keep up with! It was merely their lunch break when they realized what was going on today!

 

 

 Adam out behind our house looking at Camp Creek and its side irrigation ditch.

 It never does come into our backyard...

 but it sure directly moves into Dad and Mom's!

 Looking over the situation.

 So thankful for good, tall rain boots today!

 Always with a smile : )

Getting a good vantage point of history in the making.

 Depth checkers : )

 The Wubbens happen to be out of town for tournaments and their basement is flooding - four houses up from Dad and Mom's. But some friends move their horses and do what they can.

Their steer found his little island and watches from here all day.
 

 Down Camp Creek Road south from us; runoff from the fields on the left and Camp Creek on the right. People speculate if it will go over the road and into all our front yards, as it hasn't stopped rising yet. This is a really good view of the valley. And this is only melt-off from fields! The mountains would be next. But it never does in the coming week! Temperatures go back down to normal. God is always watching over us.

Just a little further south is where Camp Creek comes from the fields and is closest to the road at this one point. It's just touching on the road, but this is as high as it gets this week, here, Praise the Lord! Every house matters!

 

This is the creek coming towards the road from the Braaksma dairy

 

 

Just a little further south down Camp Creek Road is the first bridge from our house where the creek goes under and up into the neighboring yard.

 

 

 

And here is the second bridge down from our house.

 

 

More south on the gravel part of the road is covered in water.

 And here it goes to the other side to the east.

 

 

 

Now, up again north to the playground, with the school's lawn under water on the right and baseball field in the back under water.

 

baseball field in the back ~

Most of the homes around the school and on Amsterdam Road, in town, have flooded basements. As well as where the flooded creek comes near to them on south Camp Creek Rd. We are so thankful to have a dry basement and Dad and Mom only have very little.

 Across Camp Creek Road from Amsterdam School

 downtown Amsterdam, Amsterdam Road

 

off to the left on Amsterdam Road

 

 

Day #2; March 9, 2014, thursday

 

 

 

 The creek and its side-creek have now fully merged.

 

Water all the way back to hills.

 

 

That's a lot of water.

 

Across from our front yard on the other side of the road.

 The Wubbens

 

Livingston is also in the news with a 'state of emergency.'

 

The bridge just before the school.

 Mom is interviewed by the local news anchorwoman and on tonight's news!
 And it's raining!!!

 Even Matthew got on tape! But he didn't make the cut : )

  They saw how the compost pile was helping a little, so they added panels and more hay. It did noticeably help redirect the water some from their backyard!

Making sure the road is going to hold the water away from our front yards.

 

 Just too deep for little William's boots. So he gets a good vantage point!

 

 

 

We went to sleep after looking at this and hearing the rushing waters in the night...

 

 and woke up to this! Silence!

On the morning of day three it all receded, and returns to pretty much normal. Let the clean up begin! Unfortunately, today it will all hit Manhattan! The water flooded over the interstate in one place and under it in another into the downtown area. They were on the news, all flooded out. Another mess. But we are so thankful no one was hurt and basically only water damage occurred. God was with us all! Cars continued driving through the water on the interstate and everything went fine. It was pretty deep! But no damage there!

 

 

 

 

During the night I could hear the water moving along. But when we first looked out in the morning, the field across the street was pretty much normal again! It's done! The darker area used to all be water by the road. Chilly again with ice, now.

 

 

 

This poor lot, just before the bridge going to the school, was featured on the news. This is their little art studio and totally submerged in water. Fortunately, no basement!

 

The creek and their yard that is now finally visible!

 

 

 

Dad checking in on them. Their home next to the studio has the green roof and the yard was also completely under water. It was deep! Dad and Adam got them some hay bales which definitely helped, but it was pretty bad for their basement and garage! They were already planning on moving to Roundup, but still had a lot of things in the garage that was all ruined. It really saddened them when people would drive by, take pictures, and keep right on driving. They needed help! 

 

 

This is from the bridge and you can see their studio in the background. So unfortunately close together for this one moment in time!

 

 Right on the other side of the bridge is the baseball field that was also totally under water.

 

Looks so much better already!

 

Just on the other side of the school here, you can see a swirl of leaves on the road from high waters.

 

Now just some fun ice to crunch through.

 

 

 

What a difference one night makes!!

 

 

Amazing how fast it just goes back to as if it had never happened. This is the important time, now. That we must remember God's mercies and always be ready to help a neighbor in need.