Hasn't Katrina Taught Us Anything?

I am just home from the long trip to Arizona, back to a state in which it has been raining for days, and is expected to continue raining. As I was getting ready to hit the hay this evening, I got a call from my daughter, who lives in an apartment complex in a suburb outside Philadelphia.

Her apartment, which is partially below ground level has begun to flood. The water appears to be coming in, not only underneath an emergency exit door in a utility hallway behind her apartment, but actually through adjacent cinderblock walls that seem to have pieces falling out of them. That sounds like an emergency situation to me - not only for her immediate apartment, but perhaps for the stability of the entire building.

She called her apartment maintenance, and was told by the person who answered the phone that there was nothing he could do now, that he would come over in the morning to check things, and maybe pull up her carpeting, to be replaced. In the meantime, he says, unplug everything. Nothing my daughter said could convince him to get out of his warm bed to come see the situation in the building that is his responsibility to maintain. Understandably, my daughter was quite upset, wondering that if she tried to spend the night in the still dry part of the apartment, would she wake to find herself floating, or worse, would the entire apartment building above her come crashing down on her because the water soaked wall gave way?

I told her quit fooling with an incompetent maintenance person who obviously hasn't had a bit of training as to what to do in a flooding situation. I told her not to even think about standing in water or on wet carpeting to try to unplug things. I told her to call 911 and let the police and fire department come out and check the situation.

My concern right now is for her health and safety - and I am waiting by the phone to hear what is happening.

But rest assured, once I know she is safe - there will be some people brought to task here for their lack of response.