Monday 18 June 2012

Flooding

The heavy rain flooding the garden
Last week my parent’s house was flooded. The torrential rains and the fact their house is very low meant the ground became a bit soggy underfoot, to say the least. The water table filled up and the water came up from the ground, in the lowest point of the house. 
Fortunately, the damage was minimal; only the carpets and skirting boards. Any damages will be paid for by the insurance. Special hoovers to suck out the water were used. Now the house is drying out slowly, with the help of dehumidifiers. They are calmly humming away in each room, drawing out the moisture from the ground.
It has been a fairly big ordeal; to move all the furniture and wait for the ground floor to dry out before a new floor can be laid. It is an inconvenience but normal life can resume really.
 



Removing the water from the carpet
The full stream







Floods in Ecuador (January 2012)
 It was made me think of people who get flooded in poorer countries. In Ecuador, in the coastal region, during the rainy season (December to May) there are torrential rains almost daily. Houses do not have flood defences. When houses, streets and towns get flooded, they deal with it the best they can. There is not insurance they can claim on. They will have to pay for any damages themselves. Most of the time, most of their worldly possessions are damaged and lost. In hindsight, I do not feel I have too much to complain about with our flooded house.

How fortunate we are in this Country.



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