Popular Searches
Print
E-mail
Comment
Rate
Share
More rain brings additional flooding
 |
| A virtual river runs right through Hudson’s Cedar Park Cemetery at the height of Friday’s downpours, surrounding a number of graves before running down the road and into a pond that was overflowing. The water came down from the Greenport Transfer Station off Newman Road, across that road and then into the adjacent cemetery. Robert Ragaini Hudson-Catskill Newspapers |
Not as bad as Wednesday
By Francesca Olsen and Jamie Larson
Hudson-Catskill Newspapers
On Friday, it was still wet and dangerous outside, and reports of weather-related problems were still flooding in.
The National Weather Service declared flash flood warnings for Columbia County Friday morning, and many towns have already seen plenty of flooding. State roads closed in Thursday’s storm were reopened Friday morning.
The town of Greenport was the most recent town to declare a state of emergency, doing so at 5:10 Friday evening. According to the Deputy Supervisor Keith Mortefolio, the reason for the decision was based mainly on the flooding and washed out roads, with Greendale Road being the worst by far.
“The damage is so bad [on Greendale] that we don’t even see it getting opened again in the near future,” Mortefolio told the Register Star. He also went on to say that after seeing the extent of damage that the flooding had done to the road, he realized they would need help cleaning it up, and towns that declare a state of emergency are eligible for federal funds.
The town of Claverack also declared a state of emergency beginning at 4:15 Friday, due to heavy rains, flooding, and the associated risk. Supervisor Jim Keegan declared the state of emergency early Friday afternoon.
“This rain is coming again. The roads they fixed last night are getting flooded again,” he said. Keegan had to cut the conversation short due to numerous reports of flooding. “There goes my fire whistle,” he said, “Gotta go.”
Hudson Department of Public Works Superintendent Robert Perry had problems of his own Friday. The culvert on Newman Road was overflowing Friday afternoon and crossed the road over to the Cedar Park Cemetery into a retention pond.
“Our crews have been doing what they can to keep the volume down,” said Perry. “There’s a torrent coming down pretty much everywhere.”
Perry said that the water flow was coupled with velocity, which undermined previous patch jobs on Warren Street, creating some debris. Perry’s crew spent most of their time during the rainstorm on Friday cleaning out drains so water could flow below the city’s roads.
The cemetery crews in Hudson joined DPW in their storm management efforts. Perry said DPW plans to start patching roads again on Monday.
“These are the things we expect,” said Perry. “We just don’t know when it’s going to come.”
Columbia County 911 reported numerous flooded basements, some with feet of water, one electrical transformer fire in West Ghent near the firehouse, and a car accident on Gahbauer Road. Three patients were transported two local hospitals - two to Columbia Memorial Hospital and one to Albany Medical Center.
In Kinderhook, Supervisor Doug McGivney was still evaluating damages and flood levels at 3 p.m. He took “before and after” photos of the flooding and reported that the flood at Samascott’s nursery and greenhouses had receded since Thursday.
McGivney reported that the fire department and highway crews were still working on Kinderhook’s secondary roads, but that flooding had generally receded. “If we get a full day’s break from the rain, it will probably be ok,” he said.
Unfortunately, this temporary respite seemed not to be the case, as the water rose once again Friday night, forcing Kinderhook and the DOT to once again close Routes 9 and 9H.
“It hasn’t started raining again,” said McGivney, “It’s the runoff that’s causing this.” He went on to say that the town would remain in a state of emergency in light of Sunday’s forecast for more rain.
Allen Grout, owner of Golden Harvest Farms in Valatie, is having problems trying to keep his apple trees straight with their roots firmly in the ground. “Even with the rainfall, there’s so much water that some of these trees are dying because of suffocation,” he said. “There’s nothing good that comes from any extreme...Extremes are not good for agriculture.”
Grout has already lost 350,000 apple bushels due to extreme hail experienced during the growing season. There hasn’t been significant hail during this storm, but farmers have dealt with plenty of it over the summer. Grout said it was one of the worst seasons for hail he has ever experienced.
Philmont declared a state of emergency July 30, due to dangerous flooding of roads. Kinderhook, New Lebanon, Stuyvesant, New Lebanon and Chatham also declared a state of emergency July 30. Friday, Greenport declared a state of emergency as rising waters covered Route 9G and Route 23. Claverack also declared a state of emergency Friday afternoon restricting travel on secondary roads.
Assemblyman Tim Gordon, D-108th, asked Governor David Paterson to declare an official state of emergency in Columbia, Greene, and Rensselaer counties Friday evening so state assistance can be provided to help the clean-up effort, especially to help the clean up of local roads that remain closed in the three counties.
“It’s imperative that these roadways become operational so our community can fully function,” said Gordon. “Our first responders need to be able to get to places in need.”
-Paul Crossman contributed to this story.
To reach reporter Francesca Olsen call 518-828-1616, ext. 2272, or e-mail folsen@registerstar.com.
The National Weather Service declared flash flood warnings for Columbia County Friday morning, and many towns have already seen plenty of flooding. State roads closed in Thursday’s storm were reopened Friday morning.
The town of Greenport was the most recent town to declare a state of emergency, doing so at 5:10 Friday evening. According to the Deputy Supervisor Keith Mortefolio, the reason for the decision was based mainly on the flooding and washed out roads, with Greendale Road being the worst by far.
“The damage is so bad [on Greendale] that we don’t even see it getting opened again in the near future,” Mortefolio told the Register Star. He also went on to say that after seeing the extent of damage that the flooding had done to the road, he realized they would need help cleaning it up, and towns that declare a state of emergency are eligible for federal funds.
The town of Claverack also declared a state of emergency beginning at 4:15 Friday, due to heavy rains, flooding, and the associated risk. Supervisor Jim Keegan declared the state of emergency early Friday afternoon.
“This rain is coming again. The roads they fixed last night are getting flooded again,” he said. Keegan had to cut the conversation short due to numerous reports of flooding. “There goes my fire whistle,” he said, “Gotta go.”
Hudson Department of Public Works Superintendent Robert Perry had problems of his own Friday. The culvert on Newman Road was overflowing Friday afternoon and crossed the road over to the Cedar Park Cemetery into a retention pond.
“Our crews have been doing what they can to keep the volume down,” said Perry. “There’s a torrent coming down pretty much everywhere.”
Perry said that the water flow was coupled with velocity, which undermined previous patch jobs on Warren Street, creating some debris. Perry’s crew spent most of their time during the rainstorm on Friday cleaning out drains so water could flow below the city’s roads.
The cemetery crews in Hudson joined DPW in their storm management efforts. Perry said DPW plans to start patching roads again on Monday.
“These are the things we expect,” said Perry. “We just don’t know when it’s going to come.”
Columbia County 911 reported numerous flooded basements, some with feet of water, one electrical transformer fire in West Ghent near the firehouse, and a car accident on Gahbauer Road. Three patients were transported two local hospitals - two to Columbia Memorial Hospital and one to Albany Medical Center.
In Kinderhook, Supervisor Doug McGivney was still evaluating damages and flood levels at 3 p.m. He took “before and after” photos of the flooding and reported that the flood at Samascott’s nursery and greenhouses had receded since Thursday.
McGivney reported that the fire department and highway crews were still working on Kinderhook’s secondary roads, but that flooding had generally receded. “If we get a full day’s break from the rain, it will probably be ok,” he said.
Unfortunately, this temporary respite seemed not to be the case, as the water rose once again Friday night, forcing Kinderhook and the DOT to once again close Routes 9 and 9H.
“It hasn’t started raining again,” said McGivney, “It’s the runoff that’s causing this.” He went on to say that the town would remain in a state of emergency in light of Sunday’s forecast for more rain.
Allen Grout, owner of Golden Harvest Farms in Valatie, is having problems trying to keep his apple trees straight with their roots firmly in the ground. “Even with the rainfall, there’s so much water that some of these trees are dying because of suffocation,” he said. “There’s nothing good that comes from any extreme...Extremes are not good for agriculture.”
Grout has already lost 350,000 apple bushels due to extreme hail experienced during the growing season. There hasn’t been significant hail during this storm, but farmers have dealt with plenty of it over the summer. Grout said it was one of the worst seasons for hail he has ever experienced.
Philmont declared a state of emergency July 30, due to dangerous flooding of roads. Kinderhook, New Lebanon, Stuyvesant, New Lebanon and Chatham also declared a state of emergency July 30. Friday, Greenport declared a state of emergency as rising waters covered Route 9G and Route 23. Claverack also declared a state of emergency Friday afternoon restricting travel on secondary roads.
Assemblyman Tim Gordon, D-108th, asked Governor David Paterson to declare an official state of emergency in Columbia, Greene, and Rensselaer counties Friday evening so state assistance can be provided to help the clean-up effort, especially to help the clean up of local roads that remain closed in the three counties.
“It’s imperative that these roadways become operational so our community can fully function,” said Gordon. “Our first responders need to be able to get to places in need.”
-Paul Crossman contributed to this story.
To reach reporter Francesca Olsen call 518-828-1616, ext. 2272, or e-mail folsen@registerstar.com.
Share this Article
 |
||
| One killed, three injured in two-vehicle accident |
Article Rating
Reader Comments
The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of registerstar.com.
You must register with a valid email to post comments. Only your Member ID will be posted with the comments.
Registered users sign in here: |
Become a Registered User |
