Compiled by Erica Wright
The recent wet weather saturating the region has set records. We asked Birmingham-area residents, what are the pros and cons of all rain?
Alex Carter: “The pros are that you get a free car wash and we actually get more business at my job on rainy days. I work at the McWane Center, so more people tend to come in with their kids when it’s raining. The cons are that when it rains, people act like they forget how to drive and forget all of the rules of the road . . . the other con is I have to walk outside in the rain and I don’t carry an umbrella.”
Serene Jacobs: “The pros would be better crop growth maybe and the cons are I’m afraid my house on the hill is going to [slip] into the ocean. I live in Warrior, and I live on the side of a mountain but if it keeps going, I’m scared my house will slide down . . . [I will say] our main road has been flooded… I’m just worried that eventually if it doesn’t stop raining, [the water] will reach my property and I might have to buy a boat.”
Sarah Monti: “I remember a couple of years ago, we had a lot of drought so even Lake Purdy, which is the main source for the Birmingham metro area’s drinking water, was [bare] . . . so that it not going to be a concern. I think the con . . . is significant pollution being added to our waterways because of maybe flooding of roads, sidewalks and other areas.”
Cecilia Pearson: “The pro is that I would take rain over a drought any day. I would rather have more rain than no rain at all. The con is that a lot of people are affected by this rain and it’s affecting the economy. Your golf courses, landscape people, carwashers, there are so many people who haven’t had regular work over the last couple of months.”
