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The bare flesh glimmers like white
stars in the rushing water as is
passes roughly through the hallway. As she's dancing around in the
newly retained water, the elder brother stares in disbelief, watching
all of their belongings torn and ravished by the murky
water. Not having enough money for a full house, he rented out space in
a dingy basement of another person's house, where each and every single
thing
that he owned besides what was on his back was now floating in the
overflooded basement.
Countless citizens of Peterborough, Ontario, suffered so much this past
July from high floodwater levels. Basements ripped apart, and for
some, everything has been swept away. The streets were rivers and the
parking lots torn into unintentional lakes. No one was prepared for
the downpour that they got. People were stranded on their boats
because of the flood that the town of 74,000
experienced. The water levels were too high and thrashing with such
force
that they gave some boaters no way home.
The cost for the cleanup is estimated to about $5 million --
quite a ridiculous wad of money, don't you all think? Well, if you
think about
it, electricity poles were torn right out of their posts, houses were
filled with many feet of water and the sewage was flooded out, making
cleanup quite an unpleasant thing.
Despite all that, the citizens slowly saw power returning and
the cleanup began all around them. After a week or two, though, there
were still hazards that would make one's head spin: "Health officials
are warning parents that children
in houses contaminated with raw sewage may be in danger."
Peterborough's
medical officer of health, Dr. Garry Humphreys, says the sewage may
have brought in bacteria such as like E. coli and salmonella. "We've
had
reports that children are living and playing in houses that are still
contaminated."
Next time you grumble or complain about just a bit of rain because you
can't go outside, remember that at least your storm won't go on for
days, making
you get evacuated out of your own home... and only getting insurance
for
things like your fridge, not your flat screen TV or your precious
computers. Remember that! ;)
Your (slow) reporter,
FudgyFeud
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1090346346621_85755546?hub=Canada
http://www.canada.com/national/nationalpost/news/toronto/story.html?id=3e2a1f9b-50ca-4897-a369-99d95c9b0f0b
Editor's
Note: And on the other end of Canada & the U.S., there's
Hurricane Charley bearing down on Florida... we send our care and good
wishes to all the victims of Mother Nature's harshest weather, everywhere
they are!
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