Monday, August 07, 2006

Flashfloods?

We have been getting rain for a couple of weeks now. It is so wonderful. After years and years of being in a drought our New Mexico land, as well as several other states, are getting the rain it so desperately has needed. So why do I hear so many complaints about it? I have heard of so many home owners who have bought homes way out from the city, on dirt roads and then they are surprised when the sudden downpours and flash floods rip out the dirt roads, tear out their yards and flood their homes that are in an area that doesn't require flood insurance. I agree that I would be upset, too. But it really seems to be a problem of the construction companies that do not look at the history and geography of a land before slapping a house down and selling it to unsuspecting owners. Don't they know that every few years these sudden flash floods have always happened out here on the desert. And after the 10 years, or so, of drought that New Mexico has had it is only worse when the rains do come. Not only which, the home owner may not even get rain, but they sure do get the water from the area where the rain did occur and all that water had to go somewhere, and your new home just happened to be in the way.
I, too, bought a new home on a dirt road a few years ago. But I took a look at the surrounding landscape to make sure that it wouldn't be quite so much of a surprise to me when the rains did come. Yes, we had a flooded field that the horses had to stand in for a few days, and no we han't realized that our driveway would direct water into the garage. But we didn't go complaining to our insurace company, the county, or the construction company that built our home. We just cleaned up the mess. And we have plans to fix the driveway.
Granted we didn't have as big a mess as so many had in our area, and I do feel for them, but I bet that now a lot of people know what can happen when the rains come.

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