Monday, July 8, 2019

Emergency Alerts, Sirens, Alarms and Torrential Rain

When we lived on Capitol Hill in a first floor condo, we always had uneasy feelings whenever it rained - for good reason. The patio was made of concrete and our kitchen was flooded a couple of times until it was replaced with another stone and slanted away from the house toward the drain pipe. We still kept our sand bags in the shed just in case. Living in an 1890’s building was a hassle in more ways than one. The last big capital expenditure there was putting in a French drain, sump pumps, and replacing very old pipes. So after thirteen years we moved to Virginia and now live on the fourth floor. But it still rains. It was devastating overnight and in to the morning for the entire DC area. Luckily we were spared any damage, but the lights in the house flickered on and off a few times. At least we have a building generator. But the constant weather updates on my phone were almost making us go mad! On top of that there was a planned testing of the fire alarm system this morning - it was so loud and lasted so long I had to put in my ear plugs. We have three fire alarm communication devices in our condo unit and are grateful that they, the sprinkler system, and the carbon monoxide/fire detectors are in place. The weather updates, the ambulance and fire truck sirens, and the fire alarm testing drove us out of the house in spite of the flash flood warnings. I don’t remember ever seeing destructive weather like this - close to being in a hurricane. Thank goodness we escaped the 1890’s house. I can only imagine what’s happening there. Let’s hope the sump pumps worked. 


















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