(Our personal flood story, complete with pictures, starts here at "Record Breaking Chicago rains". )
We have received updates and information from both the Albany Park Neighbors site and from the office of Alderman Laurino. I'll post that in a separate entry.
I would love to know how other people in the area are doing with clean-up and repair after the Albany Park flood. It's very slow here.. We don't yet have all of the carpeting pulled up nor do we have all of the wallboard down. My goal is to pull up the rest of the carpeting on the east half of our basement in the next 2-3 days, dry out that part of the basement, put down a tarp, and then start moving all of the saved items over to that side, also all of the saved items from upstairs, which are still cluttering our upstairs living room.
I happened to come across a video from the University of Iowa on salvaging and cleaning old records and DVD's. The University of Iowa, which is located in a beautiful location on the Iowa River in Iowa City, experienced unprecedented flooding last June. The library, the arts campus, and the student union building were seriously damaged, and many buildings are still closed. This video was recorded by the Preservation Department and it gives a demonstration of restoring both old records and DVD's.
Though we were able to save many or our DVD's from the flood, we still have many that were underwater. I will try the approach they suggest, which involves washing the DVD's in distilled water, then drying them first with alcohol, then hanging them to dry.
I haven't mowed my grass since the flood, and I still haven't planted the chrysanthemums that I bought just two days before the big rains. I think our autumn decorations will be a bit sparse this year.
(Next part of the Albany Park Flood Story: Albany Park Gets FEMA aid! )
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Friday, September 26, 2008
Normal depth of the Chicago River: 2 feet!!
(Our personal flood story, complete with pictures, starts at Albany Park floods-- Record-breaking rains. )
Earlier today I read that the normal depth of the Chicago River North Branch is all of two feet! (Sorry, I can't find the link.)
It had crested at 8 feet and caused such a mess.
A two-foot deep river!
(Next post: Restoring DVD's )
Earlier today I read that the normal depth of the Chicago River North Branch is all of two feet! (Sorry, I can't find the link.)
It had crested at 8 feet and caused such a mess.
A two-foot deep river!
(Next post: Restoring DVD's )
Thursday, September 25, 2008
albanyparkneighbors.blogspot.com
(Our personal flood story, complete with pictures, starts at Albany Park floods-- Record-breaking rains. )
Some of our neighbors who are also flood victims have started a blog at:
albanyparkneighbors.blogspot.com.
From their site:
This Web site was created to serve as a central point for Albany Park residents. We want to accomplish a couple of things:
* Gather the stories from the community (letters, photos and videos);
* Keep the community up-to-date on what is being done and what can be done;
* And raise the following issues:
1. Sewers and drainage;
2. Protection from the river and water management;
3. Response and communication during the crisis.
If you have stories, photos or videos that you want to share, or if you have questions (or answers) about any of the issues, please feel free to leave a comment or to send an e-mail to albanyparkflood (at) gmail.com
There will be a community meeting on Saturday, September 27 at 9:00 a.m. Location to be announced. Stay tuned!
And thanks to those people (whom I have not yet met) for mentioning my blog on their site.
Some of our neighbors who are also flood victims have started a blog at:
albanyparkneighbors.blogspot.com.
From their site:
This Web site was created to serve as a central point for Albany Park residents. We want to accomplish a couple of things:
* Gather the stories from the community (letters, photos and videos);
* Keep the community up-to-date on what is being done and what can be done;
* And raise the following issues:
1. Sewers and drainage;
2. Protection from the river and water management;
3. Response and communication during the crisis.
If you have stories, photos or videos that you want to share, or if you have questions (or answers) about any of the issues, please feel free to leave a comment or to send an e-mail to albanyparkflood (at) gmail.com
There will be a community meeting on Saturday, September 27 at 9:00 a.m. Location to be announced. Stay tuned!
And thanks to those people (whom I have not yet met) for mentioning my blog on their site.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Flood plains and furnaces
(Our personal flood story, complete with pictures, starts at Albany Park floods-- Record-breaking rains. )
I just had to find those online FEMA flood plain maps again. I remember carefully checking them before we bought this house to ascertain that this house, as close to the river as it is, is not on a flood plain. It is not. But, I was somewhat surprised to see, the houses on the other side of the river, on the 5000 block of Monticello (which became part of the river during the flood) are on a flood plain, though I can't remember which exact "level" of flood plain. In fact the marking on the flood plain map followed the path that the river took down the 5000 block of Monticello very closely. I suppose I can say that, for us, this is just a 100 year flood. I hope.
(I just heard that these flood plain maps were changed very recently. If so, that is why I didn't remember any of the residential neighborhoods around here as being on a flood plain. That's disturbing. You buy a home that isn't on a flood plain, and then it is. I didn't know that could happen.)
I believe that I will never feel the same way about rain, especially if thunderstorms and heavy rains are predicted. I find myself getting tense if even a little rain is predicted. This summer I've watched the people of Iowa, western Illinois and Missouri who struggled with the floods. I was watching news about Hurricane Ike the same morning that the Chicago River was overflowing! But living through the mess and the rebuilding is different than watching these things on the news.
There must be some PTSD (post-traumatic stress) for all of us who have lived with this kind of destruction and loss.
I now have a shiny new furnace and a shiny new hot water heater. The shiny new hot water heater replaced the shiny new hot water heater that we just put in last January, unfortunately. But the old furnace was 15 years old. All of the work was done in a few hours, and we were able to enjoy hot showers last night.
We've spent over $2,000 so far including the down payment on the furnace/water heater, and other bills are late. We've only begun. The washer/dryer, all of the furniture down there, the wallboard; all a loss. Thank heavens we have some insurance, but it won't come anywhere close to covering most of this.
(Next part of the Albany Park Flood Story: Normal Depth of the Chicago River is Two Feet! )
I just had to find those online FEMA flood plain maps again. I remember carefully checking them before we bought this house to ascertain that this house, as close to the river as it is, is not on a flood plain. It is not. But, I was somewhat surprised to see, the houses on the other side of the river, on the 5000 block of Monticello (which became part of the river during the flood) are on a flood plain, though I can't remember which exact "level" of flood plain. In fact the marking on the flood plain map followed the path that the river took down the 5000 block of Monticello very closely. I suppose I can say that, for us, this is just a 100 year flood. I hope.
(I just heard that these flood plain maps were changed very recently. If so, that is why I didn't remember any of the residential neighborhoods around here as being on a flood plain. That's disturbing. You buy a home that isn't on a flood plain, and then it is. I didn't know that could happen.)
I believe that I will never feel the same way about rain, especially if thunderstorms and heavy rains are predicted. I find myself getting tense if even a little rain is predicted. This summer I've watched the people of Iowa, western Illinois and Missouri who struggled with the floods. I was watching news about Hurricane Ike the same morning that the Chicago River was overflowing! But living through the mess and the rebuilding is different than watching these things on the news.
There must be some PTSD (post-traumatic stress) for all of us who have lived with this kind of destruction and loss.
I now have a shiny new furnace and a shiny new hot water heater. The shiny new hot water heater replaced the shiny new hot water heater that we just put in last January, unfortunately. But the old furnace was 15 years old. All of the work was done in a few hours, and we were able to enjoy hot showers last night.
We've spent over $2,000 so far including the down payment on the furnace/water heater, and other bills are late. We've only begun. The washer/dryer, all of the furniture down there, the wallboard; all a loss. Thank heavens we have some insurance, but it won't come anywhere close to covering most of this.
(Next part of the Albany Park Flood Story: Normal Depth of the Chicago River is Two Feet! )
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
The Second Week --
(Our personal flood story, complete with pictures, starts at Albany Park floods-- Record-breaking rains. )
It's been 10 days since the flood.
We're still camped out in my son's room. At least the DISH TV box is working.
I've been spending a couple of hours in the basement every day... that seems to be about as much as I can manage.
I bought a big super-duper dehumidifier. Somehow I got the thing down into the basement myself and hooked it up to the drain. The humidity down there is down about 15% already. Our patio is filled with saved items that have been washed down and are drying in the sun.
We have about 9 boxes of papers, photos and souvenirs that were flooded, and I'm going through them sorting and saving. My son's office room table has been filled with drying pictures. Sunday I dealt with Paul's pictures. I told Paul, "Here is your life; spread out on this table."
Last night I came across a box with my son's baby pictures and another box with all of his school reports and report cards. Most of them are salvageable, thank heavens.
Now it's time to dig up more wet clothes and go off to the laundromat.
That's the interesting thing about tragedies and disasters. The news crews are gone, no more news helicopters waking us in the morning; but the mess just goes on. And it probably will for months.
(Next part of the Albany Park Flood Story: Flood Plains and Furnaces. )
It's been 10 days since the flood.
We're still camped out in my son's room. At least the DISH TV box is working.
I've been spending a couple of hours in the basement every day... that seems to be about as much as I can manage.
I bought a big super-duper dehumidifier. Somehow I got the thing down into the basement myself and hooked it up to the drain. The humidity down there is down about 15% already. Our patio is filled with saved items that have been washed down and are drying in the sun.
We have about 9 boxes of papers, photos and souvenirs that were flooded, and I'm going through them sorting and saving. My son's office room table has been filled with drying pictures. Sunday I dealt with Paul's pictures. I told Paul, "Here is your life; spread out on this table."
Last night I came across a box with my son's baby pictures and another box with all of his school reports and report cards. Most of them are salvageable, thank heavens.
Now it's time to dig up more wet clothes and go off to the laundromat.
That's the interesting thing about tragedies and disasters. The news crews are gone, no more news helicopters waking us in the morning; but the mess just goes on. And it probably will for months.
(Next part of the Albany Park Flood Story: Flood Plains and Furnaces. )
Friday, September 19, 2008
Insurance adjusters and wet carpeting
(Our personal flood story, complete with pictures, starts at Albany Park floods-- Record-breaking rains. )
Well, we do have a drain/sewer rider to our Homeowner's insurance. It's not going to cover anywhere close to the total loss, but it's a beginning.
The insurance adjuster was here today, taking pictures, looking things over, and he said that our home was the worst one he has seen during this last round of storms. But he admitted that he didn't have any homes to look at on the 5000 block of Monticello or over on Avers.
We've got approximately 48 x 25 square feet of wet carpeting over 48 x 25 square feet of wet carpet padding. I'm scoring it into pieces approximately 4 x 4 and hauling them up the stairs one at a time. Then we can start pulling down the wallboard.
After we get the furnace and the hot water heater up and running, I hope that we can get a new washer/dryer. Mine were old and they didn't work that well. I had to bail the darned washing machine every 2-3 days. Then we can figure out what to do with the structure of the family room.
Meanwhile I'm exhausted and I smell. Just keep your distance if you see me! (Our deodorants, safe in the downstairs bathroom medicine cabinet, made it through the storm. They were above the water line. But I smell anyway. It must be hauling garbage and carpet pieces and no hot water for regular showers.)
(Next part of the Albany Park Flood Story: Chicago River overflows: Recovery- The Second Week. )
Well, we do have a drain/sewer rider to our Homeowner's insurance. It's not going to cover anywhere close to the total loss, but it's a beginning.
The insurance adjuster was here today, taking pictures, looking things over, and he said that our home was the worst one he has seen during this last round of storms. But he admitted that he didn't have any homes to look at on the 5000 block of Monticello or over on Avers.
We've got approximately 48 x 25 square feet of wet carpeting over 48 x 25 square feet of wet carpet padding. I'm scoring it into pieces approximately 4 x 4 and hauling them up the stairs one at a time. Then we can start pulling down the wallboard.
After we get the furnace and the hot water heater up and running, I hope that we can get a new washer/dryer. Mine were old and they didn't work that well. I had to bail the darned washing machine every 2-3 days. Then we can figure out what to do with the structure of the family room.
Meanwhile I'm exhausted and I smell. Just keep your distance if you see me! (Our deodorants, safe in the downstairs bathroom medicine cabinet, made it through the storm. They were above the water line. But I smell anyway. It must be hauling garbage and carpet pieces and no hot water for regular showers.)
(Next part of the Albany Park Flood Story: Chicago River overflows: Recovery- The Second Week. )
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