Oh and dont get me started on the ones with coolers on the back or the idiots that insist on making mud pits out of any water hole they can find. Even if its posted clearly to STAY OUT.
After Floyd dumped a record amount of water on Eastern NC, I was down east helping out. The first trip down was right after the event and the water was still high. Complete devestation in the low areas. We where in one little town next to a tributary of the Neuse. Many of the houses where still underwater. People had lost EVERYTHING. They had mere minutes to get out of their houses. The areas that had flooded had not flooded in 100's of years.
Anywho, we where downstream of the town on a little road and we stopped where the water was peaking. We had to roll up the windows as we crossed a pool of standing water in the road that was full of shall we say "stuff." We where downstream of the town and its sewage treatment plant. The smell was bad to say the least. Down in the flood waters was a bunch of houses and we could not get any closer than a 1/4 mile. Where the flood stopped was a bit of high land with nice house whose owner had a boat and airboat. Seeing an airboat in NC is pretty rare. We where talking with the survivors when a Nation Guard 6x6 came drove on down into the water to see if there where any more people out in that mess. I don't know how he kept that truck on the road but he did it. The water looked like it did not enter the cab.
Or at least not much. Given what was in the water you don't want to touch it. Heck you don't want to be standing near it.
I found out a few weeks later when I was back down there cleaning out houses, that the man with the airboat had rescued many if not all of the people down in the floodwaters. The house we cleaned out was about 3 feet above grade but the water had gone up to the roof. Nobody would have survived down there if not for him and the airboat.
Which finally brings me to my point about ATVs.
While where where talking, two guys on ATVs where riding around in that sewage water.
There was no reason to be in that water. None. Everything in those houses was destroyed. Nothing really to be save except metal objects and with the water still up there was not point even trying to save what little was left. But those guys where out playing in S E W A G E!
The smell was bad enough standing next to the "water" much less driving in it so that it is over your legs and splashing all over your chest. I can't imagine the infections they got. Hopefully nothing worse....
I still can't figure out why one would jump on an ATV to drive around in sewage....
Later,
Dan
