Our 3 Bridges got Severely Whacked by Flooding

Of course, right before going on a long 11–day trip something happens...

Click in center to view 16 second video:

Sure enough on July 8, we had severe weather with quite a downpour and of course ALL our bridges + pond + greenhouse flooded...

It broke my heart to see Pieter's hard work partly being destroyed!

Wearing my rubber clogs, I went outside and look at the center bridge's first pole being whacked out!

Debris all over the bridge...

Even an entire pole that came through the pipe under the road—one wonders HOW...

The force of water is strong.

Lots of sand also comes in the roaring stream; from elsewhere of course.

Here you can see how it got whacked out.

Also the soil below the start of the bridge got washed away...

The debris is hanging in the shrubs...

This is the final bridge, our third one... There was even more debris that whacked agains it full force.

So much sand left behind on the lawn.

Zooming in to all that wood and debris from whatever and wherever...

When I walked over to the greenhouse, there was water inside as well!

Our pond is constantly being fed by an underground spring and there is an overflow by means of a drain pipe that leads excessive water away to the creek.

But now it all got flooded and Pieter had to poke the pipe open, as it got clogged up from debris, like leaves.

Did walk closer to our first bridge, near the road.

An entire pole rammed into it.

Our Moonflower Ipomoea alba was happy with all that excessive rain!

Of course, Pieter managed to repair the bridges once more, just before we departed on July 16.

While we were gone, we had again some damage to the center bridge due to yet again severe rain!

Related links:

NOW or NEVER — Travel WEST with us | previous post by me about our 11–day journey

Building a Bridge in Two Days | previous post by me about how it all started

{IMPACT and AFTERMATH of TROPICAL THUNDERSTORMS} | previous post by me with short videos for getting an idea how severe it looks...

{IMPACT and AFTERMATH of TROPICAL THUNDERSTORMS}

Officially it is hurricane season and that has also an impact on part of the United States. Living in the south east of the USA is great, related to the climate but sometimes we do pay a high price for sunny weather as things tend to go wrong. Tropical storms, disturbances and heavy thunderstorms with buckets of rain are a high price we often pay.

On Sunday afternoon of August 18, we were making the rounds over our estate and we first hand could see the damage that was caused by a severe thunderstorm on Wednesday, August 14, with a tremendous downpour that caused flooding.

You can see that lots of soil got washed out from underneath the bridge's ramp... gone!

The wooden bridge got beaten up too and lots of debris laying around everywhere.

That's the last of our three bridges and that too got beaten up and lots of soil washed out from underneath its ramp.

But what can we do?

You see that white chevron, it is pointing towards debris, leaves and such that left a trail from where the flood line was on Wednesday, August 14. 

Our Spunky girl is even impressed and looking at it... seen center right.

In the far distance comes our Smokey boy; they join us for the usual 'cat walk'.

When we had gone inside on Sunday, August 18, for having our tea, another heavy thunderstorm came up suddenly and we had a tremendous downpour. This is ONLY 5 hours later!

We were quite shocked and worried about our bridges, our trees, shrubs and plants...

Tropical weather like that is so harsh on the elements! 

Murky water comes roaring down.

Our Spunky girl usually stays in our wood garden; that's her domain but now I worry as she cannot cross the bridges or she might get swept away. This is AFTER the rain and of course most of the racing water had already passed and is now receding rapidly.

Such a sad sight...

This also leaves behind a very thick and stinky mud.

And this we watched now week after week, for nearly three months in a row... Our kind of summer for 2013.

All the hard work, all the woodwork, the painting and treating of the bridge with wood preservative.

Husband Pieter did just finish this bridge on August 1, and it has been under water numerous times since.

Just sad... Look at this little lake!

Foaming water that keeps racing down hill...

Just hoping for the best...

Water from the creek comes running down from across the road as well...

The flooding across the road, alongside the creek is even worse...

Look how much creek water is still running over the road, not being able to pass through the huge pipe, underneath the asphalt. That pipe is not wide enough to handle all the excess water in the creek, which accumulates fast from higher areas.

In the distance you see our white picket fence. Behind me to the right is still part of our wood garden, a total length of 200 meter we got alongside the road.

This I zoomed in from our bedroom window...

WHEN will this wet monsoon finally leave us?

Short video from July 10, when it started: Rainy Day in Georgia – iPhone upload ←click it.

Rainy July Day in Georgia I – iPhone upload ←click it

Rainy July Day in Georgia II – iPhone upload ←click it

Rainy July Day in Georgia III – iPhone upload ←click it

Rainy July Day in Georgia IV – iPhone upload ←click it

Rainy July Day in Georgia V – iPhone upload ←click it

Rainy July Day in Georgia VI – iPhone upload ←click it

Rainy July Day in Georgia VII – iPhone upload ←click it

Rainy August Day in Georgia – iPhone upload ←click it

The above give you at least an idea how that looks like...

A constant battle and HARD WORK!

Sure, in July Georgia Magazine did warn for getting prepared: It's hurricane season. 

Bringing the risk of storm surges, high winds, tornadoes and inland flooding across Georgia...

Finally we had two SUNNY days now after 11 days of rain, as much as 12.49 inch or 31.7 cm. 

Unreal amount of water...

Related link:

{Our Wooden Balusters Repurposed} | previous post by me
{Our Damage from Tornado spin off of Hurricane Earl, 2003} | previous post by me with severe damage to our bridges

{Our Wild Creek}

Due to enormous amounts of rain over the past couple of days, we have a full and wild creek running through our property. The bridges had been elevated, as we learned from previous raging waters. So far, so good. Pieter took some photos with the iPhone.

 Let's have a look at our wild creek...

• This is our newest bridge, close to the road as you see. Husband Pieter finished it just before Valentine's Day in 2012.

• It looks more like a lake now and over the years this has grown in diameter a lot by raging water swirls.

• Branches and all kind of things get to travel down the creek.

• Looking from across the bridge towards the house...

• Showing our center bridge as well...

• This shows the two bridges.

• In the end you also see the first bridge; we got three in total. 
• Lots of rain but it would be far better if it came over several weeks instead of a couple of days.

Are you getting a lot of rainfall in your neck of the woods as well?

Related links:

{Our New 3rd Bridge} | previous post by me

{Our Damage from Tornado spin off of Hurricane Earl, 2003} | previous post by me

{205 Winfield Road Then and Now} | previous post by me

{Our Backyard Wildlife HABITAT Certificate from August 1997} | previous post by me

Rainy July Day in Georgia II - iPhone upload | showing how it looks like...

{Our Damage from Tornado spin off of Hurricane Earl, 2003}

• On Thursday morning, March 20 of 2003, we had a terrible Tornado spin off, of Hurricane Earl, that hit right here where we live. 
• Our creek side had been blooming for days with masses of creeping phlox. After the tornado struck, our two bridges were knocked out and the creeping phlox washed away... It looked like this:

• The power of wind and water... this was after the flood.
• On March 24, husband Pieter started to repair the bridge. 
• He actually was working on the construction of our Rose Suite at that time but this needed attention fast as we no longer could reach our wood garden for work.

• On March 26, Pieter had build this new bridge... 
• To the left you still see part of the previous bridge as it was flung high on the land. 
• Too heavy to even move it... Incredible how strong the powers of nature can be!
• To the right you see a few of the remaining creeping phlox, to the left they all had washed away...

• We don't have photos, only video, from how gorgeous it looked before with these pink masses of creeping phlox blooming. 
• Several years of work gone... 

• Pieter did use a crate from Sintra, in which our oak Oisterwijk furniture for the veranda had arrived from Rotterdam by boat.
• Trying to barricade the soil from washing away entirely...
• Azaleas blooming on the other side of the creek.

• March 20th 2003 - a deadly tornadic thunderstorm all the way into central Georgia...

~~0~~

We did have 2.94 inch or 7.5 cm of rain! 

Info obtained from weather.uga.edu

• Building paradise is not that easy... But we did start all over again.

Related link:
{IMPACT and AFTERMATH of TROPICAL THUNDERSTORMS} | later post by me about our bridges
{2004 Hurricane Francis - Our Garden Before and After} | previous post by me