The Flood Of 2011

Mother nature threw us a hard slider on the inside corner this past week when a stalled front in the Ohio Valley and a slow moving hurricane off the east coast caused a funnel effect of precipitation which inundated NEPA for several days with 6 to 10 inches of rain. With the ground already saturated from Hurricane Irene, the Susquehanna River swelled to a record 42.66 feet sending 70,000 plus people running for cover. The mighty Susquehanna roared to heights which may have surpassed the epic Agnes Flood of 1972. The Right To Gripe along with family members abandoned our home and headed to the Red Roof Inn in Wilkes-Barre Township. I want to thank the Red Roof Inn from the bottom of my heart because they were the only hotel who would take our three boxers in this time of tragedy. I would also like to send our thanks to all of the workers, volunteers, police, fire and National Guard who have worked for countless hours keeping the people and their properties of NEPA safe. Enough of the pats on the backs because this is The Right To Gripe.

To the Quality Inn Suites and EconoLodge I say, "Go to hell you filthy sons of bitches", for not taking my family and our pets in because of your policies. They had available rooms but would not book one for us. In this time of need, you dropped the ball on the goal line as far as I'm concerned. I will never, ever stay in one of your hotels ever again and I recommend that readers of the Gripe follow!

To the scum bag bastards that were arrested in Wilkes-Barre for looting evacuated homes I say, "I hope they lop your hands off you dirty bastards. Only scum buckets like these would loot homes during an evacuation. Mayor Leighton reported that these low handed looters were arrested by Wilkes-Barre Police and members of the PA. National Guard. In my opinion they should have shot and asked questions later.

To the morons who didn't evacuate I say, "You are a bunch of stupid idiots!" If the river breached the levies which were untested at these historic levels you would have put the lives of rescue personnel in danger. It's one thing about putting YOUR useless lives in danger, but when you put someone else's in peril because of your total stupidity is uncalled for. At one point I sat watching reports about the levee in Forty Fort which had bubbling problems which caused water to leak into the dry side by the cemetery and soccer fields. As I watched, vehicle after vehicle passed by the reporter like it was a normal day. WHAT! WHAT! ARE YOU PEOPLE FREAKING IDIOTS! Of course you are. Get the hell out when you are told to.



To the National Weather Service I say, "What the hell are you doing?" They used faulty water level gauges to measure the river. Before I went to sleep on Thursday night, the river was at 38.6 feet and expected to crest at 40.8 feet. When I woke up at 7:00am on Friday morning, the river had just crested at 42.6 feet. HOLY SHIT BATMAN! This was 1.6 feet above the 41 foot protection limit set by the Army Corp of Engineers. You can imagine the terror on our faces when we heard that. We live 2 blocks from the river and could only think that our home is under water. However, WBRE Reporter Any Mehalshick reported that the levies actually have a 3 foot cushion. WHAT! WHAT! WHEN WERE THEY GOING TO TELL US THAT ONE! So in reality, the levee is 44 feet high but is guaranteed to protect us to 41 feet. This is good information for all of us to know.

Even during an evacuation, the R2G is on the beat. I will keep you all posted on the idiots, morons and atrocities that I encounter during the Flood of 2011.