The "Irony of Liquid" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Following a night of torrential flooding on the island of St. Martin/Sint Maarten.  Last year we made a visit to our favorite vacation spot about the same time of year and experienced rain on all but five of our 17 days on the island.  Not heavy rain, but enough to keep us off the beaches.  We were hoping that wasn't going to happen again this year and it hadn't, until yesterday.  We were on the beach at Orient when about 2:00 PM the beach boys came by and put all the umbrellas down.  Pointed to the skies to the east and told us the big wind is coming.  Should we stay or not?  Decided to stay and wait it out.  Wrong move!  In about 15 minutes the clouds opened and threw the liquid down on us.  Made it back to the car, but with wet gear.  So then the rain slacked off for a short time and then started again.  Should we go out to eat or eat the leftovers from out restaurant meal the night before.  I wanted to take a chance and go out to eat, but Carol said it was going to rain again.  And, boy was she right.  We are in a villa on a hill overlooking Orient Bay and the island of Pinel.  During the heaviest rainfall we couldn't even see the house directly in front us.  Now, I have experienced heavy rain throughout my life, but never for with the intensity and length that I experienced last night.  For hours and hours it rained so hard we couldn't hear the TV because of the metal roof we have on the villa.  Luckily I was so tired from a full day that I was able to get to sleep, even with the noise of the roof.  Today is nice and sunny with little wind, but when I opened my laptop and started reading a few of the travel forums, I was amazed at the "threads" that existed describing the torrential rains. One writer described it this way: Street in front of the Atrium is at least 3 feet deep!!! Cars floating down the street. Rocks and trash in the water. What a mess!!!! Another entry said: I agree just barely got home to Simpson bay what a mess all the parking lots are flooded Atrium & Flamingo cars stranded all over.  Elaine, a constant contributor to the forum, added this:  Still major flooding all over. Be careful.  Then Jeannie239  posted a link to a weather bulletin:  GREAT BAY, Sint Maarten (DCOMM) – The Fire Department and Office of Disaster Management (ODM) has been notified by the Meteorological Department of Curacao (MDC) that the country has been placed under a heavy rainfall watch until Friday 6.00pm due to heavy rain showers.  The Fire Dept./ODM therefore advises the population of the South side of the island to be cautious for possible flooding in low lying areas, street flooding and rock falls due to possible persistent heavy rainfall.  The following areas are of concern to the Fire Dept. and residents are asked to avoid these areas during heavy rainfall which causes severe flooding and inundating the areas: Dutch Quarter main road; A.T. Illidge Road; L.B. Scot Road; Zagersgut; and Welgelegen Road.  Well, today is sunny with light wispy clouds in the sky and just a slight hint of a breeze.  The island has been cleansed.  Seems like we got most of the rain in one evening instead of spreading it out over the entire vacation.  As for Carol and I,  we seem to have weathered the storm fairly well except for one major problem.  We have no water!!  How ironic that with that much rain last night, we have no water to shower, drink or flush the toilet.  But, we do have a swimming pool right outside our door that is overflowing with water and will assist with the toilet problem.  Got to stop typing and call the realtor to see what the problem may be.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.