uncommons

Yesterday I wrapped up a rather anticlimatic day of covering the rising floodwaters in St. Louis. For days my name was missing from the flood coverage roster until Friday morning when the word came down that I was set to ride with the U.S. Coast Guard (Air Station New Orleans) air group who are up here staging in Chesterfield while conducting search-and-rescue operations.

It’s only natural of course that the air patrol I joined failed to materialize any rescues — this was after the two crews plucked about thirty residents from their roofs the two days prior when the waters were actually rising — that would have been the right time to fly. Today and Sunday is a watch-and-wait game on whether a particular levee ($49 million to build) will hold out protecting a huge expanse of Valley Park and the Highway 44 area. If it goes, undoubtedly they’ll be some last minute frantic search operations. If it holds, then the surrounding suburbs can breath a sigh of relief as the floodwaters begin to recede.

Impassable roads, near Eureka, Missouri

One of the passes in rural farmlands revealed several head of livestock struggling to find slivers of dry land. Although the Coast Guard is able to rescue pets for families and provide some help, this particular helicopter was unequipped to handle a large farm animal and therefore was forced to leave just as a boat carrying rescuers arrived on scene. Also, according to pilot Lt. Kevin Crecy, the powerful wind and noise created from the helicopter’s rotors sometimes frightens the animals and can make it impossible for ground-based rescuers to help.

Livestock struggle for dry land, near Valley Park, Missouri

A few more passes highlighted all of the surrounding water and flooded areas with submerged homes and businesses. Some of the residents we quoted in stories regarding their homes failed to have the necessary flood insurance or even canceled their policies from overconfidence in the levee system. Obviously, this was a mistake and I’m sure we’re going to be picking up a few post-flood-lost-everything stories in the next few days. All of the crew on board remember the vast ramifications of flood destruction following Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans.

Submerged home, near Eureka, MO

A few steps and you’re out…is that strap latched in?

A few years ago my wife would have been terrified to hear that I was working a ride-along on a helicopter with an open door. Now, I’m confident she doesn’t care anymore for several reasons…first, this is not my first nor last helo trip, and second, all I tell her that there is a sturdy strap keeping me on board sort of and a good crew at the helm.

Pilot Kevin Crecy (left), Me with “hurricane jacket”, and swimmer Shannon Brugh