I've been hearing and reading all the talk about El Nino coming this winter. Some people have been saying they are really excited for it and I get that. We need rain. I can't wait for rain myself. I have a cute pair of boots from our one short storm last winter and I can't wait to go splashing in puddles with Adeline as a two year old.
Then someone mentioned it casually a few days ago and it took me to a different place. I remembered being 7 years old watching the flood waters rise in my back yard and up between our house and our neighbors. Hearing the sirens and hiding behind my mom as the fireman banged on our door and told us now was the time to leave unless we wanted to be evacuated on a surfboard later. I remember being scared.
Pauline and I had been watching Winnie the Pooh, specifically the episode where Christopher Robin rescues Piglet from a flood in an umbrella. I think my mom had probably turned this particular show on because it was raining so hard outside. It was so surreal to look out the window and see a flood in real life. We lived at Quail Lodge at the time, backed up to the Carmel River but far enough away that we didn't think the water stood a chance of reaching us.
I remembered scurrying around with my mom and packing bags, her making phone calls, figuring out who we were going to stay with. The fire engine was parked directly outside our house. We were one of the few families with children on our circle and the firemen were paying special attention to our house and our neighbors as it was in immediate danger.
We left the house in the pouring rain. My mom had newborn Abigail at the time who was less than a month old. My dad was out on business so she rounded us up alone. I have so much compassion for her now.
We were so panicked and yet we truly didn't believe our home would flood, even though we were watching a new river rush between our houses and watching that new river break its bank into our yard. I remember Pauline and I holding on to each other. She was still shorter than me then. In the hurry, we accidentally left our pet rabbit Butterscotch at home.
When we arrived at our friends house in Pacific Grove to stay the night and realized our mistake, the waters had already reached her cage. I remember being so angry with my mom. Begging and crying to go back to get her. I think I found out later that my parents had tried and been turned away by the fire engines barring the street.
We weren't able to return home for several weeks and couldn't move back in for more than a month. We stayed in a hotel for most of that time. The flood had seeped up through the vents and into the house. Luckily the house was designed on several levels and only two rooms, the living room and the garage had flooded entirely. Because we used our huge two-car garage as storage, we still ended up losing quite a bit.
When we did come home, mud was caked up and down the driveway. It was so strange to walk in and see our things covered in mud with the whole place stinking. A friend of my parents went in first and saw to Butterscotch. She had been in her cage in the garage (which was carpeted) and the flood had taken her. We had a funeral for her.
Things slowly returned to normal. In school, some friends had it worse. They told stories about the flood destroying almost everything they owned. There were Red Cross shelters set up at Carmel Middle School and some stayed there for awhile. Our next door neighbors ignored the fire fighters warning when they came knocking door to door and stayed with their house until the last minute. They were evacuated out on surfboards in 6-8 feet of water.
I think experiencing El Nino as a child taught me a lot of things, the main one being that nature is hugely powerful. Since then I have prepared as other natural disasters (tornado, landslide, flood, fire) happened around me. I think maybe it's because whenever I have heard of what's to come, I've tried to prepare. That first fear was a powerful teacher.
Even though we are nowhere near a river this winter, we will still have renters insurance in case flooding happens through intense rain. We will have batteries and flashlights, a radio and plenty of Costco food and water. We won't go crazy, but we also won't be naive. This has happened here before and done some real damage.
The water supply was affected during the last El Nino with some homes losing water altogether for quite awhile. We will help our friends sand bag their home and move their belongings high up or out if it comes to it.
We will talk to Adeline about what is happening in a way that makes sense for a two year old. We can start now with books about rains and storms. We'll repeat it if we lose power or during particularly heavy storms, because even that can be scary for a little one. We will let her know she is always safe with us, even if what is around us becomes unsafe. That we will always make decisions that we think will keep her safest.
The conversation that got me remembering all this was a casual one at a gas station a few days ago. The man said, "I can't wait for El Nino!" with big smile. I laughed and nodded. Then I walked away, those old memories rolling around my mind. El Nino. Those two words brought me back to the living room, the rain on the roof, the fireman at the door, the water pounding, rushing all around. The feeling of being a small person in a storm.
