The "SXM: One Of The Biggest Scares Of My Life" Story

Carol's lunch.

It was an ordinary day.  Fourth day of vacation on St. Martin/Sint Maarten and it was overcast so Carol and I decided to head to the Dutch capital city of Philipsburg to walk the streets and buy a few souvenirs.  Parked the rental car at Bobby's Marina, crossed the foot bridge, walked past the Sint Maarten Historical Society and headed West.  Enjoyed a leisurely walk along Front Street before walking a block South and heading back toward the car on the Philipsburg boardwalk which fronts Great Bay.  We decided to stop for lunch before we headed back to our villa in Orient Village and when we saw the sign that read "Crepes" we knew exactly where we would stop for lunch.  

My crepe!

I ordered a crepe with strawberry and raspberry jelly and a scoop of vanilla ice cream on it while Carol had Croque-monsieur.  As we were enjoying our meal a young man sitting across from us yelled toward our table, "Hey Grandpa."  Assuming he meant me, I looked at him.  He pointed out toward the dark sky across the bay.  He told us it was heading our way and it wouldn't take more than a few minutes to get to us.  He said we'd be best finishing our meal quickly, paying the check and heading back towards our car.  We saw the dark clouds, but didn't think they were quite as ferocious as he seemed to believe them to be.  We did finish quickly, paid the bill equally as fast and thanked him for his concern.  

Just the beginning of the storm and following another car.

We were just about to the car when the skies opened and it just poured.  I knew the road back to our villa quite well, so I paid the parking fee and headed back in the downpour.  The wipers were on high and I activated the flashers.  For the next ten minutes or so we were behind a car that evidently knew where all the bumps and holes were in the water-covered road as well as where the side of road may be located, so we stayed close.  But then...he pulled into a driveway and I was on my own.  Carol said, "I'm glad you're driving and not me."  I thought of pulling over, but I had no idea where, since some places were so flooded along the sides of the road that it was better to try and stay on the road.  I can't remember EVER driving in rain as heavy as we experienced; and that's a real long time!  If only I had eaten faster, I continued to think to myself.  

Slowly becoming harder to see the sides of the road.

Then...viola...a driver pulled onto the road in front of me and I was back in business once again.  There were times when the water was close to our floorboard, but we dared not get off the road.  The last mile or so, through the area known as Orleans, was mostly level or uphill and when we reached that point I knew we were safe.  Final 200 yards was downhill, but the water was running in the gutters at this point in time.  We entered Orient Village, passed the guard station, and within a few minutes were parked in front of our villa.  I turned off the car, peeled my hands off the steering wheel and for the first time in 30 minutes was able to relax.  Now...how do we get into the house with the couple of purchases we have.  Carol sat in the car while I took off my shoes and got out of the car to open the gate.  After a few tries it opened.  By now I was drenched.  Carol ran for the gate and another ten feet to the backdoor, which was under cover.  I locked the car and the gate and followed her into the house.  We both headed to the shower and within ten minutes were both dry and warm.  

Weather Bulletin!  Click to enlarge.

But, it was still raining cats and dogs and the water on our back deck was almost to the door and the pool was just about ready to overflow.  The rain did subside slightly, but an hour or so later we read a "Special Weather Bulletin" on Facebook telling of heavy rainfall through tomorrow.  AND, THIS IS VACATION?  A short time later another report was posted to Facebook from the Minister of Public Housing telling about the heavy rains.  It read:
Minister of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure (VROMI) Miklos Giterson, has taken note of the heavy rainfall being experienced today, Saturday, and would like to assure residents that Department of Infrastructure Management is at the moment busy assessing and resolving issues caused by the heavy rainfall.  Residents are urged to stay off the roadways for the rest of the day unless travel is necessary as all roads have the possibility of experiencing temporary flooding. If travel is necessary, motorists are advised to pay particular attention to flood-prone roads such as the Waterfront Road, Wellington Road, Zagersgut Road and the Mullet Bay Road leading to the area of the Starz Casino in Cupecoy.  

Now it's almost impossible to see where we are going.

Persons residing in the hillside areas should be vigilant of land movement, such as mudslides, as the island has experienced an increased amount of rainfall over the past weeks leading to an over-saturation of the ground. Persons residing in vulnerable areas prone to flooding are also asked to remain attentive. The Ministry has activated its water management system and the Great Bay canal has been opened as a precautionary measure and water is currently being pumped from the Salt Pond into the Great Bay sea. There have been reports of fallen trees, rocks and debris and the Ministry is actively working on clearing everything away.  The Ministry will continue to monitor for hazardous conditions and will alert the public with more advisories if necessary.  
Wow!  AND, THIS IS VACATION??  And, to top that off, an hour later a special radar broadcast was posted so I could see where my villa was located.  NOT GOOD!  NOT GOOD AT ALL!!  AND, THIS IS VACATION???  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

Radar Bulletin