Sunday, April 1, 2012

Holy Cow!

Today was downright scary.  In the morning, I  jumped out of bed to the sound of rushing water.  People were screaming and sirens were going off.  I opened the door to my room and saw a horrible sight.   My parents were up and staring in amazement and fear at the courtyard below our rooms.  The river was flooding and we were lucky to be alive.  In the courtyard, the river banged up against concrete walls and smashed into windows.  Broken glass was floating on the top of giant whirlpools.  I was so relieved that the water had not yet risen above the courtyard and flooded our rooms.  I felt confused and sad.  What about Dan and Jaime?  I hoped dearly that they were OK.  Police were running back and forth and I could hear many more in the far distance.  My dad volunteered to help with the wounded.   He started talking to the driver of an ambulance outside of the hostel. 

My dad was deep in conversation with a group of doctors, while Mom and I left to see the rest of the town.  Police cars and ambulances were racing nonstop around the small town.  The water was up above the public walkways.  Mom and I trudged through waist deep water in the public park.  The first thing we noticed were the bridges.  Normally, running across the now flooded river are two bridges, one for cars and one for pedestrians.  Both of these were now a tangle of rebar and broken cement.  The combination of the broken bridges and the flood had created a massive rapid.  If anybody got swept away by the river, they would either be pinned against the broken bridge or be skewered by prodding rebar just barely sticking up in the giant, five foot waves.  Beggars ran up to us asking for money or help.  We walked back to the hostel in shock. 

Back at the hotel, Dad was treating victims of the flood.  All of them were drenched in water.  They were coughing and running around in circles, scared and upset.  The rest of the day, Mom and I sat inside scared and watching movies.  We just went outside and I think things are mellowing out.  The river may have gone down a little, but is still in an extreme flood.  By the way, happy April Fools!

Thank you for reading Rohan Geographic! 


















12 comments:

  1. Ok, maybe a little funny... :-)

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  2. I fell for it hook, line and sinker! ("Looks like we got us a big one -- reel 'im slow so he doesn't get away!")

    But in my defense, it's April 2, so I've got a good excuse for having my guard down.

    Right?

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    1. Ya missed it dude! One day late! I will be counting this in my annual best reader competition. Joking! Keep reading Chop!

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  3. OMG!!! that is NOT FUNNY at all! i was terrified and started looking at floods in South America....hehe!!!

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    1. Got Ya, Dad! I am sorry for the scare, but you got to admit, that was pretty good :)

      Keep up the adoption plans, it should not be long before I move in!!!! YEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!! DADDDDDDDDDDYY!

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  5. The best joke on April Fool's Day is a believable one. I guess, yours was a good joke in that regard. I could feel the hair stand up on the back of my neck as I was reading your post. Ugh...

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    1. Ha Ha Ha! Did you or Andrew read the post first. Did the first person tell the second one??? Is April Fools a Russian tradition, or just American? If not, are there any Russian holidays like April first?

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    2. :-) I saw your post a day after Andrew did, and he had not spoiled the surprise for me. We have the same tradition in Russia. My sister was a master of the Fool Day's jokes as we were growing up. She'd come up with the most outrageous story every year and no matter how much I was expecting it, she still would manage to get me every time.

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