Probably the school needed to put up a flag person for the buses.

Stop sign? You mean that Red octagonal sign with the White border? Pheew!!!!!!!!!

What is written on a traffic sign is but a mere suggestion; no?

Lucy - those buses take kids to many different schools, all a long way from my neighborhood. So no flags.

Greg - I know! Who would ever believe a giant red sign that says to stop?!! Heaven forbid there is actually a reason, like a huge tree, to really stop.

Thankfully the tree is now removed.

We have drivers here, too, that seem to not understand (1) how to read signs or (2) the height of their vehicle. The Montague Street bridge here in Melbourne claims many victims. It's been so frequent this year that it's become a bit of a joke and the bridge now has its own website, Facebook page and Twitter account:

http://howmanydayssincemontagu...
https://www.facebook.com/Monta...
https://twitter.com/MontagueSt...

Oh, and the most recent collisions come after the installation of warning gantries that will actually hit the vehicle if it's too high and cause a loud noise.

There's always someone around these parts with a chainsaw and a desire to help.
Although sometimes the saws just aren't big enough for some trees. The pine that fell across my road last winter was one of those. That and those pesky electrical wires.

I hope you all get a chance to dry out..

Mother nature is being kind in the aftermath. We are not to have any more rain for the next 10 days.

Very Good, but MN is plotting I am sure. I saw on TV where many people in the Carolinas were under water. What a shame.

Hundreds of thousands under water. Some rivers have yet to crest. In many areas it will be until next week before the water recedes. A major dam is leaking so new panic tonight for those downstream who are already barricaded from returning home. It is truely catastrophic.

Lestv said:Hundreds of thousands under water. Some rivers have yet to crest. In many areas it will be until next week before the water recedes. A major dam is leaking so new panic tonight for those downstream who are already barricaded from returning home. It is truely catastrophic.

I watched the news coverage tonight. It looked like the dam had breached. And then so many homes were damaged with high water and mud. Really tragic; & many had lost everything: hoping for better days ahead! Really heartbreaking!

I agree, really heartbreaking. This will be a life changing event for many people.

saw the news report. So very sad.

Sorry to hear of all the damage and chaos. Hope everyone stays safe.

Life-changing events. I'm sad for those who must suffer through the destruction.

Horribly sad; to lose your home must be one of life's worst misfortunes. I hope people are able to return to their homes soon. Will the government pay for repairs?

Government may have some programs, but I doubt if most people have flood insurance.

So so sad to see..............

Most people are not aware that home owners insurance does not cover floods. They find out when it is too late. Another item that is not covered, and very costly is the fee the electric company charges if something tears the electric line away from where it connects to your home and meter. You find these things out when you need them.

I lost my electric lines during Hurricane Fran, but they didn't charge to reconnect them. Probably since the destruction was so wide spread.

FEMA has already offered aid to many of the counties affected. Moore county, where you see a lot of national flood coverage pictures from, still needs them to approve their county. When Hurricane Floyd did this to eastern NC years ago FEMA brought in trailers and mobile homes as temporary housing.

I think that after Floyd many of the areas in the floodplains are required to have flood insurance now. But no one can expect to lose everything due to a dam failing, so there are many who are definitely not covered. I was surprised last night to find out that the state doesn't own the dam that failed. The news reported that the "owner of the dam" had been contacted in 2015 about need for repairs. Individual ownership of a dam on a major river seems odd.

Appears a coal ash pond got flooded too so now we have arsenic and lead in the water.

This time there hasn't been as much loss of livestock though. The farmers did a good job of getting the animals to higher ground. There were a few horse rescues, but no massive issues. And yay to shelters finally welcoming pets with their humans.

Yikes, arsenic and lead in the water sounds really dangerous - I think that both can be absorbed through the skin, so just shifting to bottled drinking water might not make people safe. You should perhaps seek some serious advice.