I stood on my front porch with a mug of black coffee, watching the Army Corps of Engineers carefully place shaped charges along the 1924 stonework. The controlled explosions echoed across the valley like thunder. A century of my family’s craftsmanship dissolved into rubble.
And then, Mother Nature took over.
The first massive wave of spring snowmelt hit at 2:00 PM, six hours earlier than Dr. Martinez’s most aggressive computer models predicted.
I watched in awe as the 3-acre pond drained in minutes. Freed from a century of management, the water roared down the mountain with horrifying enthusiasm.
By 4:00 PM, my phone was vibrating off the kitchen counter. The text alerts from the sensors I installed were going crazy.
Basement flooding detected at 47 Maple Drive.
Water level rising rapidly at 23 Oak Street.
Emergency evacuation recommended for 1200 Block Pine Avenue.
Dexter’s $800,000 McMansion was the first to go. It had been built directly in the creek’s original natural overflow channel. The raging brown water swallowed his manicured lawn, blew out his basement windows, and submerged his white BMW X7 in the driveway.
