It's worth remembering that massive flooding doesn't just mean high water and destruction. It's what's in the water, too (from AP):
"Flooded rivers from Florence’s drenching rains have swamped coal ash dumps and low-lying hog farms, raising pollution concerns as the swollen waterways approach their crests Monday.Add to that raw sewage and waste treatment plant flooding, all kinds of animal carcasses, snakes and other vermin carried along with the flood waters. It's a toxic stew flowing everywhere. Terrible.
North Carolina environmental regulators say several open-air manure pits at hog farms have failed, spilling pollution. State officials also were monitoring the ongoing threat from the breach of a Duke Energy coal ash landfill near Wilmington."
2 comments:
Yeah, floodwater isn't chlorine-fresh water spilling through the streets and into your living room. It's filled with, at the very least, mud, branches, debris, and at worst, human and animal waste, chemicals, dead animals, and whatever else the rain and rushing water bring. Millions of people struggle with flood clean-ups and they have my utmost sympathy and admiration for going through all of that with determination and strength to start over.
donnah -- It's a devastating situation and one that calls out for a maximum recovery effort.
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