4/27/11 -- Rain, Rain, Go Away Major flooding of the Ohio River is threatening our house!

     As I am typing this, there are houses just a few blocks from here that are surrounded by piles of sandbags.  You see, our town of Metropolis, Illinois is a "river town".  This means that a river, the Ohio River, runs right along our town.  Because it has rained pretty much everyday for at least the last week, the river is way above its normal level.  Harrah's riverboat Casino and Hotel are closed until further notice because of the flooding.  I know that's not all that bad, but our town relies pretty heavily on the revenue that the boat and hotel bring in.  The casino and boat was forced to shut down last month due to flooding too, but it wasn't nearly as bad as it is this time.  There are also quite a few houses right along the river that are already under water and there will probably be more before the river crests sometime next week.

     Brett and I live on 3rd street, which means we're just three blocks away from the "swollen" river.  As of last night, water was already creeping up onto 2nd street.  Our house is still quite a ways from being underwater, but it's still a possibility that the river might end up in our yard.

     In the last few days, Brett and I haven't gotten a lot of sleep because we've been worrying about the levels of the water and contemplating the decision to pack up and evacuate.  Like I said, it looks like we're going to be okay at this moment, but things can always change.  If we do end up evacuating, I can't even imagine how we would go about doing it.  How does one just pack everything up and leave their house? 

     We've driven around the town to see the devastation and let me tell you it's pretty bad.  The only thing that is heartening is the way the town has come together to help fill bags of sand to try and keep the rising waters away from peoples' houses.  I only wish that I were able to help in some way.

     As I bring this blog entry to a close, I just have one request.  Please keep the people of Metropolis, Illinois and the cities and towns surrounding us in your thoughts and prayers. 

And that's what Sarah said!