More Flood!
The flooding in our area went from bad to worse. Swollen rivers poured into the lake from every direction, and the lake overflowed its banks and submerged most of downtown. Out of concern for our safety, our Embassy arranged for us to be evacuated by the Indian military, along with a group of other foreigners. As a result, I’m writing this from a guest house in Delhi.
Better a boat than a car
For many of us, one of the things that turned this flood into a crisis was the complete lack of news or communications. Shortly after I posted my last blog entry, the city lost internet and phone service, as well as electricity. From then on we got almost no “hard” news about what was happening outside our neighborhood. There were rumors of catastrophic flooding, bridges under water, and people trapped on housetops, but no one knew the truth. Many of our neighbors had family members living near the lake, but without phone service, they couldn’t get in contact to find out whether they were safe. We couldn’t even get in touch with our co-workers without driving to their house—and we had to take a long, roundabout way to bypass the flooded lakeshore. We felt anxious and uncertain; it’s been a long time since I’ve felt so cut off from the rest of the world.
Without news or communications, the Embassy’s recommendation to evacuate came as a surprise. It turned out to be a long, somewhat chaotic trip, with periods of waiting interspersed with tense and hurried movement.
The copter- our ride to the airport
The most memorable part was the leg we flew by helicopter; all the roads to the airport were flooded, so the military was flying groups of tourists and foreigners there to board planes. A military helicopter is an impressively powerful machine; if we hadn’t been told to sit down on the tarmac before it landed, the blast of wind from its blades would have knocked us over. As we lifted off and flew over the city, we saw for the first time, through the windows, the devastation that we had only heard rumors of. Murky brown water covered much of downtown; two-story houses could only be spotted by the peaks of their roofs. While most people had been rescued, their homes and businesses were all but destroyed.
The other thing that I will remember about our evacuation is the group of people I got to know. All foreigners (mostly Americans) who had come to North India to love and serve its people, most of us didn’t know each other well and were thrown together in this unexpected journey. For some, especially those who had lived there for many years, it was wrenchingly hard to leave neighbors and friends behind. Our group had as many small children as adults, so those of us without kids along helped out; I had a co-worker’s two-year-old girl as my “helicopter buddy” for the day. A special bond formed among the group as a result of the evacuation adventure, and we even held a reunion in Delhi the following week! Hopefully our bond will contribute to greater unity and better working relationships after we return.
The rescue effort
The roads are now open and relief work is in full swing in our city, and we hope to return in a few days to help out. I’m fortunate to have this blog in which to record my memories of the Flood of ’14. Most of my neighbors don’t blog; many of them don’t write at all. I’m looking forward to visiting them, sitting over a cup of tea, and asking about their memories and feelings. Some may be painful and sad. Even if I don’t understand everything, I hope to offer them the gift of listening, of loving them by honoring their stories.
Posted in Uncategorized by Lisa
Flood!
The stream flooded the road into our neighborhood
Yesterday was the fifth straight day of rain. I don’t know how much rain has fallen, but probably more than I experienced in 10 years of life in West Africa and California! Since we live in a mountainous area, the rivers around us quickly swelled with fast-moving water from above. We were grateful that the rain stopped last night, and the water is receding.
We weren’t too worried at first, because we live on relatively high ground, and our apartment is on the second floor. But yesterday morning the nearby river overflowed its banks, and water began flowing across the roads and into our neighbors’ yards.
Water reaches the bottom step
By noon, river water was flooding through our yard as well, and it almost covered the bottom step of the house before it stopped rising. The main road was blocked by fast, muddy water.
Many people have been impacted much more severely. In lower-lying areas people’s homes and gardens have been destroyed. People have died as cars and buses were washed off roads and bridges. Here’s one of many internet news reports: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-29093254
I noticed how easy it was to ignore the rain and the rising water as long as it stayed at a distance. When I saw water rising in our own yard, those news reports of flooded homes and lost family members suddenly seemed more urgent, and more worthy of my concern and prayers.
Power poles down
Human nature is like that; we tend to only care about what touches us directly. Part of what it means to “Love Our Only World” is to intentionally move out into the world, so that we are in a position to be directly touched by what brings suffering to our sisters and brothers.
Posted in Uncategorized and tagged flood by Lisa
Picnic, with Cows
On Sunday we invited our landlord and his family to join us for a drive into the hills and a picnic lunch. It was an exploratory trip; we followed a winding road into a canyon and eventually found what we were looking for—a grassy spot in the shade, next to a stream. We laid down the blanket and unpacked our baskets.
It was like many picnics we have enjoyed over the years; we ate lunch and drank tea with the relaxing sound of water cascading over rocks in the background. Doesn’t food always taste better when eaten outdoors? We weren’t bothered by ants at this picnic, but a small herd of cows, along with four goats, passed by on their way to a watering hole.
Picnics here in North India have their differences, as well. Instead of sandwiches, we ate chapatis (flat bread) and dahl (lentils). Our conversation with our landlord’s family alternated between English and the local language, as we practiced expressions for what we were observing around us. Our landlord doesn’t drive, so this was a rare chance for his family to explore “off the beaten track.” We hope this is only the first of many adventures together!
Posted in Uncategorized and tagged picnic by Lisa