A glorious morning. Clear blue sky, the water still, the grass fresh. It was exactly the sort of scene that had convinced them to buy the house.
But the spring colours and sun-kissed fields hid the tumult of the previous night. The storm had raged across the whole country for twenty four hours. The deluge of rain had centred on them.
They had prayed the water level would cease to rise. The river had burst its banks in the early evening. It hadn’t stopped there. It kept rising. It had swamped their garden wall, their flowerbeds and lawn disappearing under the brown waves that crept closer to their back door.
Personal belongings and expensive electronics were shifted upstairs in a hurry. Family heirlooms and sentimental trinkets were salvaged. The furniture was too big to move, heavy white goods were stranded. The cellar was abandoned.
The wall of emergency sand bags was breached around one in the morning. They tried to pump the water out, but it streamed in too quickly. They had to admit defeat and seek sanctuary on the upper floor, listening to the howling gale and the disconcerting slapping of water below until the storm finally subsided in the early hours of the morning.
It would be days before the river returned to normal levels. All that was left was to pick up the pieces and begin the clean up. No one had lost their life, their neighbours were all safe. Now they would have to band together and start cleaning and rebuilding.
She held her face up to the warm spring sunshine. A songbird shrilled a tuneful note through the clear, still air. She turned back towards her house, the marshy ground sucking at her shoes as she marched ahead.
This is a response to the #writephoto Prompt: Still curated over at Sue Vincent’s Daily Echo. Click on the link to read other stories inspired by the image.
To find out more about my novels by following the links below:
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All too topical, I’m afraid…and the rain shows no sign of abating.
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I can’t wait until the summer!
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Oh wow Iain. You have captured the scene and devastating aftermath of recent floods. Our non-boat friends from the marina are cut off and looking on the webcams of locks on the Avon, you cannot see the moorings we are familiar with.
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It’s been crazy. Thankfully hasn’t quite reached the same levels where I am. Hope everyone is safe.
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We just have the wind to contend with more than anything else as at least the sea is tidal. It comes up pretty close to the flood defence walls though and the gates are all closed for the winter. We had a torrential downpour this afternoon and the road was under an inch of water in minutes. Our property is apparently the highest on the estate………. by three inches!
Keep safe too Iain.
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You’ve shown us both sides of the picture. The ravages of the water and it’s serenity too. 👍
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Thank you
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You’ve caught the resiliency of the human spirit. Good job.
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Thank you
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Oh dear, Iain, flooding on this scale is rather awful, but at least they didn’t have to climb onto the roof.
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Thanks Roberta, there’s been a lot of it around over here this week.
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Yes, I know, I read an article about it just before your post.
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I can’t imagine how that must feel. Mother Nature can be so cruel.
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It certainly can, thanks Keith
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Reading this invokes a sense of anxiety about the storm, but you ended it nicely with a peaceful conclusion! I like it!
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Thank you so much 🙂
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Very well written Iain, have you ever been flooded . We were thirty five years ago, supposedly a once in a hundred occurrence. My husband was working late, a normal state of affairs. The water gurgled up the hot air grills in the floors, through the doors. Neighbours and strangers helped move what we could up stairs, I was wading knee deep through my house. The boys, they slept through the whole thing. You described it so well. We lost so much , carpets, curtains, the furniture it was hard, we were young and uninsured but we did recover . We have always had insurance since, although we have moved since I do not like torrential rain even now 💜
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Fortunately we’re at the top of a valley so no danger of flooding here, but we get more snow as its colder! Been a lot of water around lately, but thankfully we are safe and sound 🙂
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I am so glad to hear that , keep safe 😜
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Very much in the headlines at the moment… excellent Iain.
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Thank you so much 🙂
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