9-2-21 SHORT HILLS: We’re back in NJ. Our arrival coincided with that of TS Ida. She was a storm of biblical size, dumping 4 inches of rain here before the rain gauge fell over. Nearby rain fall recorded amounts were closer to 8 inches, in just a few hours. Probably not so much for some areas of the country, but unheard of here.
This house was built in the 1940’s when foundations were made with basement windows. Outside the window are window wells. 3 or 4 feet deep to allow the window to open for ventilation, I suppose. We have seven such windows. Four of them leaked, letting water pour into the basement from the window wells that filled with the rainwater, in spite of covers that are supposed to prevent that.
There was so much water coming into the basement that the sump pump was overwhelmed. It was working, but the water level was rising faster than it was getting pumped out. Out of desperation, I rigged up a tarp outside, nailed to the windowsill above the largest window well to divert the water away from the well. Inside the basement, I nailed another tarp under the window to steer the water into the old laundry sinks. Reducing the water flow allowed the sump pump to catch up, and then we were able to sweep the water to the sump to clear a lot of it. This morning I swept a lot more of it to the sump, and cleaned up the garage and driveway.
There was no damage to the yard except a few small branches. There was not much wind, but there was lots of L and T. There were tornadoes in some areas of the state. Downtown Millburn had severe flooding from the Rahway River.
In bloom: crape myrtle, white snakeroot, caryopteris, purple lamium, hydrangea, clematis, rose-of-Sharon, abelia.
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