Oh boy, do I have a story to tell about this hurricane. *gets self cozy by the fireplace, smoking a pipe in a red robe with a dog by her feet*
So, it started raining around noon on Saturday. First it was a light drizzle and over the next few hours it started really coming down. I spent the majority of my afternoon helping out the SPCA set up a temporary animal shelter in one of the many schools around here. (My area was actually part of a mandatory evacuation but we stayed a home) By around three thirty I had done all I could do in terms of setting up and helping out, so my boyfriend (now fiance, I'll explain later) and I headed home because my mother was heading to work and we didn't want my little brother, whom is autistic, to be home alone.
So a few hours go by. I had set up a little "hurricane party" for my family. I made a nice dinner for my brother and fiance while the power was still on. We watched our favorite movie series and just generally run amok. While I was sthingying on the couch with the fiance, my anti-social cat jumps up and decided to sit on my chest and pure up a storm. In the back of my mine I'm thinking, "we'sa gon' die now. D: cat is bein' cuddly." About... I wanna say five minutes later? the power flickers and goes out. This was around six thirty.
So, being prepared we had already got the super radio/flood light/TV/amazing disaster thing and candles and such ready. So the three of us sit around at our kitchen table listening to a news channel around candle light. Around eight or so the wind had picked up substantially and it was already beginning to flood a bit in our backyard. (our house is on a hill so the lower parts not near our house was where the flood was at) The radio informed us of the storm getting closer, 'cause it hadn't really hit yet mind you, this was just the edges of it. There started being tornado warnings/sitings in the towns just below us so I enlisted my brother/fiance in getting bedding and supplies in the basement.
We have everything nicely set up in the basement. I'm trying to contact my mother due to actual tornado warnings in our county and such, but she's not answering. Around ten I get a hold of her and the Home DePoop was closing and she was heading home. So, all is well.... >_>
We have a sump pump in our basement because it is finished and we have had some pretty bad flooding in our basement due to past hurricanes. Only problem is that it runs on electricity but we have/had a gas powered generator. So we thought we'd be fine.
My mother gets home and the four of us settle comfortably in the basement. (Some back information, my mother is an alcoholic who is particularly mean and has caused some serious damage to the family due to her drinking) She pours herself a drink and we get on with our evening. At this point, all is well. I'm reading, fiance is drawing, the brother has fallen asleep. Cat was in his carrier and the dog was sticking close by.
Around twelve thirty, it all goes to nuts. My mother is vaguely inebriated now and the sump pump has begun to fill with water. We go outside, start up the generator, and everything is okay for the time being. Suddenly, the ol' genny decides to stop. Mild panic, whatever, we start it up. It runs for another five minutes then stops... Repeat two times, until it doesn't even start. Meanwhile, the sump pump is filling up with water and the threat of a basement flooding is real.
Commence the "bucket brigade" as my drunk mother called it. Despite the endless gallons of water we painstakingly rush out of the house and into the back yard... We can barely keep up with it. At this point, I texted my friend. Some back information on him is that we have known each other about... six years? He was my brother's friend first but we got to know each other, he's been hopelessly in love with me... One of those kinds of stories. I ask for help because my mother is drunk and my boyfriend has been hospitalized not 24 hours earlier for extreme dehydration and exhaustion because he had overworked himself trying to get his house ready. I didn't expect my friend to literally run from his house and show up at mine around 2:30 or so in the morning during the hurricane. But he did, so hazz-a. I regret nothing. My mother is screaming at me because I didn't "consult" her first, the fiance is hurt because he felt I couldn't rely on him or some nuts. Anywho, the five of us are now bailing water out of the basement, and managing to just barely keep up with it.
Around 3:30, the friend decided to mention his shop (he works in construction) had a special pump that ran on gas that could help us out. So the two of us decide it is a wise idea to brave the elements and try to make it there. He is fortunate enough to have had some EMS training and knows how to handle emergency vehicles, so he was able to drive my car some-what safety towards his shop. We managed to get close to it with no real problems. We hydroplaned quite a bit and almost stalled in a mini flash flood. It wasn't until we started going down what is known as construction road that nuts went down even worse. (lol, the filter made me giggle.
nuts. Hahaha)
Ever heard of ball lightening? It's the lightening that happens in funnel clouds when a tornado is about to form. Well, we got to witness that. Just as a flash flood almost slid our car off the road. I've never seen anyone bang a u-turn so fast in my life. I am not religious but I swear God was watching over us. We managed to high-tail it back as a tornado touched down less than a quart mile from us. The remainder of the terrifying ride back to my house was us outracing a tornado, as hail and massive winds almost destroyed my car. Even more terrifying was the fact that we heard the massive roar of the tornado as we were doing 80 down towards my house. D: We watched numerous funnel clouds form and managed to get into my house as one tore through the woods in my back yard and get everyone under the steps and away from the window.
>_> And after that was done we continued to bail water out of our basement as my mom screamed horrible things at us. That was my night. /end/