The image of white-water rafting flashed into my head. A small group clad in the bulbous life vests, perched vicariously on the edge of the bright orange raft, hanging on for dear life at the mercy of the rapids. At the helm, an experienced guide, who was reading the waves and deliberately choosing a safe path. Cold water gushed in and out of the raft, a stark reminder of what my immediate future might hold, a cold wet dunking.
Driving along Barbican Road Wednesday night was a virtual re-enactment of my one white-water rafting experience. Water gushing, me attempting to read the waves and to chose a safe path, assuming that a particular wake meant a larger pothole below, a still pool might suggest I would plunge into depths never to surface again, and a careful assessment of who I might splash, wet pedestrians can mean a rush of guilt or a large rock stone in your back window! Driving in the rain is not exactly the serene experience you might have hoped for.
I never complain about the rain, my garden loves it. I love how it rejuvenates the mountains and our landscape. I love the sound it makes washing the roof and peaceful quiet that always seems to accompany a rainy afternoon, enough however, is enough! Yesterday my feet got wet, my road floated down the hill and is now deposited somewhere near Matilda's Corner, and my only consolation is that my roof no longer leaks.
global warming
To me it seems like more rain that usual, but then again this summer seemed hotter than ever and a careful check of historical temperatures suggest that there were hot summer days as far back as the records go - 1881, and our temperature has not been noticeably hit by the now famous global warming in the way temperatures close to the poles are. The wettest year on record is 1933 with an annual rainfall of 116.54 inches, with the mean annual rainfall being 74.61 inches. It felt like 74 inches fell in my backyard last night.
The figures for October's rainfall are not available yet so we will have to wait to see if we broke any records with these recent torrential downpours. While it seems like more rain than usual, the effects have been lessened by efforts to clear and maintain drains. It cannot be denied that in previous years this kind of rain could have easily wreaked havoc on our economy, not to mention the lives of thousands. Thus far it seems that we have managed to proceed business as usual, despite the flood-level rains.
The Government has announced a massive relocation project, and certainly, if this can be achieved we are well on our way to attempting to prevent the inevitable disasters before they happen. This is a necessary first step in moving away from, as they call it, "crisis management" and moving towards proper planning and progress, something I eagerly await!
politically prudent
Tolerance of residents of flood-prone areas is often seen as a consideration of the poor in the short term, something that is politically prudent. Yet, in the long run it can just be disastrous and even murderous. Likewise, litter control is often seen as the pet peeve of the idle middleclass who don't understand the constraints of the poor, yet we can all understand when a child gets washed away in a gully from a flash flood.
The sun will come out, and we will soon forget the damp feet and the cold toes, and the potholes will be filled eventually. But we hope that the Government will not only manage this crisis but plan for the future by building appropriate roads, maintaining the curb walls, drains, and enforcing no-settlement zones in flood-prone areas. So that when it rains, let it pour!
Tara Clivio is a freelance journalist.
