cdymek's Blog!

Residents throughout Manville who had to leave their homes began returning to the remains today as flood waters receded. As I walked around this morning I saw debris scattered wherever the water had left it, including upturned dumpsters and port-a-potties, among many other items scattered about. Still, the roads were slowly being cleared and the streets were reopening bit by bit throughout the town.

My father and I spent about six hours working on the basement, taking on the two to four inches that had accumulated across the entire floor. We were able to pump out the water and toss out the huge pile of rubbish that resulted from the water exposure.

It will be intertested, in the coming days, to find out more about the full extent of the damages to many of the hours in th neighborhood. Even as I write this the Fire Department is going house to house, pumping out water wherever necessary. And the piles of debris that once were people’s possessions are now piling up on curbs throughout the town.

And, of course, it is always somewhat strange and disconcerting to have to clear a police checkpoint every time you want to return to your house. Better than the alternatives, I suppose, but the feeling is still unusual, to say the least.

The situation may be improving, but plenty of closures can still be found in Central NJ. Both the Manville Public Schools as well as Rutgers – New Brunswick will both be closed tomorrow. I imagine Bound Brook, Piscataway, and several other of the “Brunswickses” may also be closed.

I just heard a car drive by, which leads me to believe that I may finally be connected by road to the rest of the world again. While I can’t be sure, this would be an exciting development.

I haven’t been out since around 9 pm, which was good timing on my part since Manville instituted a 9 pm curfew tonight to try to keep people off the roads and probably from attempting to do any looting/theft as the waters recede. And by 9 pm, the water was already well on its way down from the heights reached earlier in the day. I’m excited at the thought that when I wake up in the morning, the roads may finally be passable.

Although that leads to the next phase, which includes pumping the water out of the basement and tossing out a huge pile of junk down there that is now waterlogged.

You can see more photos here.

Well, this has been one for the record books. The Raritan and Millstone have crested and started the slow slide down. In terms of river heights it’s definitely #2/#3 around the area, only being beaten handidly by Floyd. In all honesty, that makes Floyd more impressive by comparison. When you consider how Floyd had about a foot of water in the Manville movie theatre, I would have been in several feet of water.

Still, that doesn’t take away from this storm. Large parts of Manville are inaccessible to car traffic, including all the sections of Main Street by the Walmart/Police Station, Dunkin Donuts & church, the entire Weston Canal section (except for an emergency use only overpass over the rail line), and my neighborhood in the Lost Valley.

It certainly hurts the town, and reopens all the memories of Floyd.

I’ve finally posted a first cut of flood photos up at Flickr.

Having just returned from a two hour wander about town, I can safely report the following: while not as bad as Floyd in 1999, this ranks as #2 or #3 in terms of flooding in town. Having missed Floyd itself by making my way back to New Brunswick before I was trapped here in Manville on one of my rides during that storm, I missed out on this. But for the water reach the intersection three houses down is a pretty significant feet.

Which brings me to my one issue. The basement has apparently sprung a leak, and water is now bubbling up as the water table rises. We’re currently sitting at about an inch or two and rising. I’m glad I hoisted up the valuables yesterday, but this sucks regardless.

Oh, and there’s no sign of my upstairs neighbor, which leads me to conclude he must have made his way out of the neighborhood at least, before the roads flooded over. How far he got beyond that is anyone’s guess.

Finally, if you’re thinking about trying to swing by Manville today, don’t bother. I’ve heard reports that the police have instituted checkpoints on the un-flooded roads to keep the gawkers and looters at bay.

Well the river did rise even further overnight, ensuring that, at least by car, there is no way out. The river rose to create an “island”, blocked on three sides by water and on the fourth by the railroad yard. Possibly water, too, but too many houses and buildings are currently in the way.

I’ll be venturing outside to take some photos. And, of course, it’s still raining here.

I just returned from another walk around the neighborhood, and the water’s still rising. By morning it seems fairly certain that I’ll be sealed in my neighborhood (or at least my car will be). The water has completely closed off the small single lane tunnel entrance, leaving only the high bridge over the railroad tracks. However, the water levels are already backing up out of the storm drains, indicating that, too, will flood over as the waters continue to rise.

I can only imagine what the area will look like tomorrow morning as this takes its place on the top 5 list in terms of historical high water marks.