Pounding Rains and Raging River
By Ann LeFlore
@poehere (15123)
French Polynesia
August 28, 2017 9:57pm CST
Yesterday I work up to a beautiful sunny day, blue skies, and warm weather. By early afternoon the winds started to pick up from the south and come early evening the rains started to pour.
This is dry season on the islands and we receive small rain showers now and then. However, this storm that blew in yesterday afternoon is one of our wet season storms. It rained all night, heavy winds, and the river in front of my house filled with water and started raging towards the ocean. .
At one point the river was so strong you could hear the rocks being push down stream. I pass a bridge each day to arrive at my home. The river runs in front of my home on the islands. It isn’t that often that we see the river raging by with such force. However, last night it started to pour in the mountains and the river started to fill with water. I am towards the end of the river where it flows down to the ocean.
I normally have nothing to fear when the river rises like it is doing today. Our river bed is rather deep and it would take a lot more water to fill the river before it could spill over on land. However, one time our government made a major error upstream. They decided to dump trees, shrubs, leaves, and other debris next to the river.
We had an unsuspected storm like we are having now and the river swept all this away. It was forced downstream with such force that many of the trees hit the bridges. At one post a large tree broke a bridge and blocked the river from flowing. This caused the river to overflow on both side. Houses were flooded and some were completely destroyed. Our house was filled with water and river mud. It took us 3 weeks to get the mess cleaned up.
After this they put a new law into effect that people living by the river could no longer dump their leaves, trees, or debris into the river. It was too dangerous. Last night I stood on the bridge and watched the river flowing by. This time we didn’t see any debris in the river. So there is nothing for us to worry about now.
Image is taken on my bridge of the river raging by in front of my home.
14 people like this
13 responses
@andriaperry (116936)
• Anniston, Alabama
29 Aug 17
That looks scary, stay safe.
1 person likes this
@poehere (15123)
• French Polynesia
29 Aug 17
I will. This is low compared to a few times here. It is going down, but still flowing strong right now. The winds are picking up again and it seems to keep raining. Not sure when the rain will stop. They say the storm should pass by tomorrow afternoon. As long as the winds keep up the storm will blow out of her sooner.
@JamesHxstatic (29413)
• Eugene, Oregon
29 Aug 17
Luckily, you are far better off than south Texas, and Louisiana which are inundated.
1 person likes this
@poehere (15123)
• French Polynesia
29 Aug 17
My yard has water in it right now, but it is not flooded. The river seems to be going down now and it is still flowing quite hard. Not sure how much longer the storm will last. It is strange at this time of the year to have a storm like this. Normally we are hit with these types of storm in December to March of each year.
1 person likes this
@poehere (15123)
• French Polynesia
29 Aug 17
@velvet53 This one is true. Most people here don't have trees in the river bed. Plus, we have a giant rock retaining wall on both sides of our river to keep the river water in place and not erode the land. My BF father put this up over 70+ years ago and it is till standing today. He built the wall on both sides of the river by himself. He did this to protect the people who live on our road.
1 person likes this
@poehere (15123)
• French Polynesia
29 Aug 17
We do have a strong river from time to time that flows in front of our home. We have never had a problem with this river in over 50+ years until the government decided to do something stupid. Now if anyone throws anything in the river, they are fined. We can put leaves in the river and burn them, but if we cut trees we put them on the front of the road and they pick them up and mulch them now.
1 person likes this
@moneychaser (813)
• Baguio, Philippines
29 Aug 17
Floods happen now every where. Every country. I'm sure this is now one of the effects of global warming. After the flood follows drought. And whose fault?
@moneychaser (813)
• Baguio, Philippines
29 Aug 17
@poehere It's great that they do that. In my country, most people are lazy and irresponsible. Simple laws and ordinances they can't just follow..
@poehere (15123)
• French Polynesia
29 Aug 17
We don't have floods here very often, plus here on the islands people are prepared because of the rainfall we receive each year. In the tropics we do have a lot of rain and each person's home is build for this purpose. People who live next to a river have built retaining walls and enforced them. They also keep the rivers clean and remove the rocks in the middle of the river so the water can naturally flow and do what is needed.
1 person likes this
@poehere (15123)
• French Polynesia
30 Aug 17
@moneychaser Living in a large city is a lot different than living on a small island. Here we have heavy rains in December to April. This can cause the river to fill and really flow downstream. Before they allowed people to remove the rocks from the rivers. Now they can't do this anymore because it is dangerous and changes the course of the rivers. We are lucky that our river can't be touched. The land law here states that if you own the land on both sides of the river, the river in front of your home is yours. So here we take care of the river that passes in front of us. This way there isn't problems when we have heavy rains.
1 person likes this
@poehere (15123)
• French Polynesia
29 Aug 17
Here where I live each person who lives by the river is responsible to clean the river by their home. Everyone here knows the importance of keeping the river clean and pitches in to clean the river. We also go into the river and move the large rocks to the side of the river so the river can naturally flow and dig the river a little bit deeper. Our riverbed in front of our home is very deep so we don't risk the chance of anything happening.
1 person likes this
@RichardMeister (5328)
• Otis Orchards, Washington
29 Aug 17
I heard on the radio this morning that we haven't had any rain here in 65 days. The record is something like 75 days.
Those buildings look awfully close to the river. I don't think I'd want to live that close to the river.
@poehere (15123)
• French Polynesia
30 Aug 17
That is on the other side of the river and not next to me. My house doesn't sit on top of the river. The one you see in green is just a barrier and not the house itself. The other one is right on the edge of the river. We told them not to build the kitchen like this, but they did. I wouldn't want my kitchen on the river like that.
1 person likes this
@poehere (15123)
• French Polynesia
30 Aug 17
@RichardMeister Nothing we can do. Lucky there is a solid retaining wall and the river can't take the land and house away.
1 person likes this
@RichardMeister (5328)
• Otis Orchards, Washington
30 Aug 17
@poehere Some people just don't listen. At least your house isn't that close.
@poehere (15123)
• French Polynesia
29 Aug 17
Yes, our river can be dramatic from time to time. I have to keep the animals in the house on days like this. I also stay home because there isn't much to do when it is raining like this.
@cherigucchi (14876)
• Philippines
29 Aug 17
I hope that everyone is safe. We are also experiencing heavy rains here from time to time but I do not live near any river.
@poehere (15123)
• French Polynesia
29 Aug 17
We are all save. The river never comes up to my bridge. Our river bed is quite deep now and this gives us a safety zone for the rains and the overflow from the mountains. Stay safe and I know you have been having a lot of bad weather lately.
@poehere (15123)
• French Polynesia
29 Aug 17
This was taken this morning when the river was quite high. Right now it has gone way down, but it is still flowing quite strong. Not sure how much longer it will rain and hope it will stop soon. I was out this morning and not far from where I live the sun was out and it was a beautiful there. I live on the wind side of the island and I am at the end of the heavy winds and rain area. So hopefully later on tonight, this will stop. It is not raining so hard right now, but it keeps raining.
@Tampa_girl7 (50351)
• United States
29 Aug 17
That water looks forceful. I am glad that you are safe.
@Tampa_girl7 (50351)
• United States
29 Aug 17
@poehere thank goodness it is going down.
1 person likes this
@poehere (15123)
• French Polynesia
29 Aug 17
@Tampa_girl7 Yes, it has gone way down. But if this rain continues like it is, it might rise up some during the night. I just checked and it is still rather low, but really flowing through. The rocks are no longer moving so this is a good sign. That only lasted about 1 hours. When it is that forceful and the rocks move that is when it is the most dangerous. For now it is stable and just flowing downstream to the ocean which is right across the steret frm me.
1 person likes this
@just4him (317115)
• Green Bay, Wisconsin
29 Aug 17
You can see the rage in the way the river looks like it is in turmoil from all the rain. I hope it lets up and everything goes back to normal for you. Very good picture.
@poehere (15123)
• French Polynesia
29 Aug 17
Thanks. The river is way down this morning, but it is still very fast and raging. It rained all night and this morning it is still raining. My yard is soaked and a mess. I think today the rain slowing down and might blow away later this afternoon, I hope.
1 person likes this
@poehere (15123)
• French Polynesia
30 Aug 17
It was for awhile. Now the river is way down and almost back to normal. It is still nice to have the river by the house. It is only scary when it gets so strong that it pushes the rocks downstream. That is not so much fun, especially when it is late at night and you listen to this.
1 person likes this
@acelawrites (19272)
• Philippines
29 Aug 17
It would be dangerous if there are so much debris blocking the flow of the river. So your home is near a river? Isn't it dangerous to live there?
@poehere (15123)
• French Polynesia
29 Aug 17
Yes I pass a bridge to go to my home. I have lived here like this for the last 19 years and my BF family has lived here for over 70+ years. The river has never risen that high to make it dangerous for us to live here. One reason is that we keep it clean and move the rocks out of the riverbed all the time. This keeps the water flowing. The water will flow and make the riverbed deeper if you keep it clean.
