Too Little Rain in Bay Area; Too Much up North
The Pacific Northwest has been suffering torrential rains while California is facing water rationing.
My wife and I have a second home on Vancouver Island. On Wednesday, we received a call from our tenant. After an all night rainfall of record proportions, the ground was totally saturated, the street in front of the house was a river and water had entered almost the entire 1100 square feet of his downstairs unit. The wall-to-wall carpeting absorbed water like a wick and was totally destroyed. Fortunately, our excellent tenant was able to contain the damage.
Other neighbors were not so lucky. Our friends came home from skiing to find over four inches of water in part of their home. Another street near our property collapsed into a huge sinkhole, marooning homeowners at one end. More sad stories of destruction and loss are reaching us through emails and phone calls.
According to local reports, “the Pineapple Express barreled thorough southern British Columbia Monday, bringing rainfall higher than has ever been reported.” Some areas had accumulations of over 13.5 inches in fewer than five days. That is more than half the normal yearly rainfall for Oakland. Meanwhile, our rainfall down here since July 1st is less than two thirds of last year’s, which already was well below normal for the second straight year.
And, another big rainstorm is expected up north tonight. Can you say “global warming?”