So, I did make it out to the old place where I used to live, out on The Farm, to see what the extent of the flooding is. It’s not nearly as bad as in 2008; the water has quite a way to go before it reaches the houses, and, unless we get a region wide typhoon, I expect the river level to begin falling. (Update: I just talked to Nai and he told me that China is releasing a lot of water from their upstream dams due to heavy rain farther north. I’d forgotten about that factor, so the threat of further, heavier flooding looms.)
We had a lot of rain a few days ago, but none yesterday or today. Today is joyful–it’s been nicely sunny all day for the first time in a long time. We’ve had a few bouts of sunshine, but only for a couple of hours at a time. Maybe things will start to finally dry out. Here are a few photos of the flooding.
This was taken in January, 2015, during the dry season, and it shows what the crop land usually looks like in a view from Nai’s sister’s house.
This is what the field looked like a few days ago. Not as bad as in 2008, but the crops of chili peppers and marigolds (used in the Buddhist temples by worshipers) were wiped out.
Just up the road is this drainage channel from the rice fields. This was taken during the rainy season in July, 2016. There is normally much less water flowing through here during the dry season.
Here’s the channel a few days ago, engorged by the river.
This is our front yard during the heavy rain we had this past Thursday. All the sun we’ve had today is starting to dry it out, making for easier navigation for motorbikes.
The front yard was a soggy mess after heavy rain on Thursday, Aug. 30. It’s starting to dry out. I’m glad I didn’t have to ride through the muck–the school is still on break. Back to work on Sep. 13th.