TRUE STORY

We were in Denizli, Türkiye with my dear content creator friend Janet and her husband Ramazan. They had made dinner reservations at a nice restaurant just about 30 minutes away from their house. It was early evening, and we were on our way to the restaurant with two of our kids. Our oldest son stayed home because he was feeling a little under the weather. Calvin happened to be driving, so we picked up Ramazan from work on our way to the restaurant.

Suddenly, it started to rain. It started raining harder, and water started flowing down the street. Our windshield wipers were on full blast, but we could barely see. Cars were pulling over to wait for the storm to pass. We decided to do the same. The rain wouldn’t let up. It was a torrential downpour. Before we knew it, it was like a river on the street. We saw flip-flops, a garbage can, balls, and trash all floating down the street. What was happening?! We didn’t know if our car was going to float away too. We could see people filming the chaos out of their shop windows.

There was a moment where I actually felt nervous. I didn’t want to show it because I didn’t want my kids to worry. I wished our other son was with us. All we could do was wait and pray. We had been parked for over an hour when the storm finally seemed to let up a little bit. We decided to back up and go back home a different way. Luckily, we made it home. It turns out the street we were on got hit the hardest. Janet and Ramazan said they had never experienced anything like that in all their years in Türkiye. We were thankful they were in the car with us. That was the first and hopefully the last flash flood we will ever have to experience.

Keywords

content creator (noun) – someone who creates content
under the weather (idiom) – feeling sick, not 100% well. Sometimes it can mean a slight cold.
pick up (phrasal verb) – to increase intensity
windshield wiper (noun) – the part of the car with a rubber blade and an arc that moves to keep the windshield clear of rain
full blast (idiom) – maximum power or intensity
pull over (phrasal verb) – to move to the side of the road
torrential (adjective) – used to refer to very heavy rain
downpour (noun) – heavy rainfall
let up (phrasal verb) – to stop or become slower
hit (verb) – to affect
flash flood (noun) – a sudden local flood

Multiple Choice Quiz

1. What were the dinner plans for the evening in Denizli?
   A) A picnic in the park
   B) Dinner at a friend’s house
   C) Dinner reservations at a restaurant
   D) Takeout from a local café
2. Why did the family pull over on their way to the restaurant?
   A) Their car broke down.
   B) They needed directions.
   C) There was heavy rain and poor visibility.
   D) They needed to pick up a friend.
3. Who was driving the car during the storm?
   A) Calvin
   B) Ramazan
   C) Janet
   D) The oldest son
4. Where was Ramazan?
   A) At work
   B) At home
   C) Waiting at the restaurant
   D) Out shopping
5. What items did they see floating in the flooded street?
   A) Books and notebooks
   B) Flip-flops, a garbage can, balls, and trash
   C) Umbrellas and raincoats
   D) Toys and board games
6. How long were they parked during the storm?
   A) 30 minutes
   B) Over an hour
   C) 15 minutes
   D) 45 minutes
7. What made Camille feel nervous during the storm?
   A) The thunder
   B) The wind
   C) The rising flood water
   D) The darkness
8. Why wasn’t their oldest son with them during the storm?
   A) He was sleeping.
   B) He was too tired to go.
   C) He was feeling under the weather.
   D) He was at a friend’s house.
9. How did they eventually make it home?
   A) They swam.
   B) They waited for the storm to pass.
   C) They drove back the same way.
   D) They found a different route.
10. How did Janet and Ramazan react to the flash flood?
    A) They were calm and experienced.
    B) They were excited and took pictures.
    C) They were very surprised.
    D) They were indifferent and continued their journey.

ANSWER KEY

1 Flash Flood 1. C) Dinner reservations at a restaurant 2. C) There
was heavy rain and poor visibility. 3. A) Calvin 4. A) At work 5. B)
Flip-flops, a garbage can, balls, and trash 6. B) Over an hour 7. C)
The rising flood water 8. C) He was feeling under the weather. 9. D)
They found a different route. 10. C) They were very surprised.