I did a ride-along with Mayor Sue Grantham and her husband, Jim, this morning. The initial purpose was to see the other side of the flood wall and yes, the gates will be opened up again very soon. Clean up had progressed to the point that I wouldn't be surprised if we could again start visiting our beloved river, fish on its shoreline, and enjoy the barges traffic as it moved up and down the river.
But the rest of the morning was an add-on surprise and far more sobering than exhilarating. We have a small sinkhole on our street, in front of our house and eventually, it will be repaired. Fixing depends on the river and its ups and downs. The sinkhole is a mild inconvenience but like all things that won't be ignored, you simply get used to its presence. However, there are sinkholes and then there are SINKHOLES. Ours is the sinkhole variety, thank you, God. This morning I was introduced to SINKHOLES. Meet Sinkhole #1, the one that made it clear, "Caruthersville, we have a problem".
But before I go too much further, let me give all y'all a little background.
Flooding has hurt Missouri Bootheel towns like Caruthersville, Hayti, and New Madrid. Caruthersville, alone, has suffered millions of dollars in damage and since the seep water gets into the sewer system, it creates all sorts of additional problems. A recent news report gives residents important information on what is actually happening here.
For Newspaper readers, also here: https://www.kfvs12.com/2019/06/07/swolen-river-causes-sinkholes-caruthersville-mo/
For Newspaper readers, also here: https://www.kfvs12.com/2019/06/07/swolen-river-causes-sinkholes-caruthersville-mo/
Driving around with Sue and Jim, this morning, this is some of what I saw.
And there you are.
There is hope in sight, however. Caruthersville has qualified for State and Federal emergency funds to help with the millions of dollars in repairs we face. It will take a while, but with luck and God's mercy, we will be better at the end of this hard time than we were before the river flooded and then . . . Just. Wouldn't. Stop.
This is just scary! But what an opportunity you were given! Can anything be done about it? I mean, apart from fixing them...something to prevent them. I am guessing not.
ReplyDeleteEventually FEMA and SEMA will get emergency funding to us so we, along with others, can get it there and evaluate and start repairs. Nothing will be a permanent repair, the river being the river. Hopefully, we'll have more gentle river experiences for the next several years. This year has been hellacious.
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness...how scary for you and everyone else in your area. Glad yours is of the sinkhole variety and hope it gets repaired before it becomes the SINKHOLE.
ReplyDeleteHi. Yes, it is a real mess here. And dangerous for some. I've heard of home instability yesterday for some. Not good. Not good, at all.
DeleteSad situation. Even worse, I think Missouri is situated on much limestone like Florida, so sinkholes can be anywhere. It has happened in my neighborhood.
ReplyDelete