The rain finally came to the south Texas area I am in and it came with a vengeance. It was my second time working in rain. When I saw the clouds coming in, I wisely got my bright yellow rain poncho out of the truck and put it in the trailer as I had already learned that a rain coat wasn’t enough when gate guarding. I changed out of my regular shoes into my Crocs™ and out of long pants into shorts. I was ready. It rained all night and the next day. My NOAA weather alert radio sounded off with a flood warning. At some point, a couple of truck drivers came back and informed me the road was under water farther down. That is when my little electric scooter came in very handy to go down the road and check on it. Indeed, the pad was now under water as well as the side road to it. I noted the water level and began checking every hour. It was rising very fast and not only from below me but also from the side roads toward the gate. I made sure anyone wanting to come in was informed of it before they could go down to check for themselves. Personally, I was nervous and kept up my checks all night and the next day. The water under the cattle guard at the gate was also rising. I knew that even if it didn’t overflow, it meant mosquitoes right there eventually. Aargh!
It took a couple days before it finally crested. I had pickups sitting outside my gate every morning for a week with workers hoping to go to work but they couldn’t. Some folks didn’t get the word about our situation and were sending big trucks with equipment to start the next work phase while others were trying to get in to get their equipment out. They couldn’t get to the pad. A couple brave company men donned waders and hiked in to check on the pad. A little over a week later, the water receded enough to use the road to the pad but the pad was still under water for several more days. When it finally cleared, the fun began. Water had ruined some equipment for a total loss. A very large grader wouldn’t start to move it so they had to drain and replace all fluids then change some parts. A couple of huge box containers had floated off the pad and had to be retrieved from the woods. Fun, fun, fun!
We all survived the flood which is the important thing. There was no damage to my rig which happily stayed above the flood line and I didn’t have to move out. I hear the guard farther down the highway at another gate did have to evacuate so I feel pretty lucky.
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