State of emergency in Hoosick Falls, NY after heavy rains and flooding

Posted Sunday, July 2, 2017 4:48 pm

The Town of Hoosick Youth Baseball and Softball league is looking for community help cleaning up the fields starting Monday at 8 a.m. Contact Ted Senecal at chiefsenecal@yahoo.com or 518-331-7286 for more information.

HOOSICK FALLS, N.Y. — A state of emergency has been declared in the Village of Hoosick Falls following flooding on Saturday night.

"We had some pretty torrential rain starting around 6 p.m. and it just did not let up," said Mayor Robert Allen of the Village of Hoosick Falls. "It led to a great deal of flooding throughout the village as it rolled down the mountain, across a lot of our main roads, and overflowed the Woods Brook that runs through a portion of the village."

Severe flooding in the region Saturday night, following nearly five inches of rain falling on the region, led to multiple road closures in Hoosick Falls including Church Street, Main Street, Elm Street and Hall Street.

"It's been so rainy the ground just couldn't hold any more moisture. It's just running right out on the streets and into the roads; it's just an incredible event," said Kevin O'Malley, a member of the Hoosick Falls Village Board. "It was the most rain I've ever seen in my lifetime."

"Some of the storms were moving over the area at the same time, which caused some of the flooding seen in the region,"said Joe Cebulko of the National Weather Service, which reported 4.86 inches of rainfall and wind gusts up to 36 miles per hour on Saturday night. "There was no severe weather in terms of wind and hail, but the ground was fairly saturated from past storms."

An emergency shelter was set up at the Hoosick Falls High School on Saturday night for residents displaced from their homes, including at least four homes on Hall Street which remained flooded on Sunday morning.

"We have a couple of sinkholes around, we have some damage up on Church Street, we have a lot of houses that are currently uninhabitable, so we're in the process of seeing what's next," said Allen. "We're getting a full assessment of where we're at so we can see what's in the immediate and near future in terms of clean up and getting things restored as best we can."

Town officials and emergency responders worked Sunday morning to assess damages and respond where possible.

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For residents such as Michael Ryan, the recovery process has just begun.

"I heard water running in the basement from out of nowhere. I looked out the windows and realized we were completely surrounded by water," said Ryan. "I threw my child into a car seat, ran out the door with the dog, and somehow got out."

Stories like Ryan's were echoed across the Village of Hoosick Falls, where many residents will be displaced until repairs can be completed.

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"I don't have a definite number, but we're probably looking at ten households, give or take," said Allen.

Despite extensive damage, residents voiced resilience and gratitude following an outpouring of assistance from emergency responders.

"We had over fifteen different fire units from this county, from across the border in Bennington, from up north in Washington County, and more responding. Watching everything happen and unfold last night, it was amazing to see them bring order to the chaos and get things handled," said Allen. "I'm grateful for their willingness to get out there; a lot of these people are volunteers who were giving up their Saturday night on a long holiday weekend to help us."

"I was actually a couple of hours away on vacation. I started getting phone calls about all the rain that was coming down, so I drove back last night," said Mark Surdam, town supervisor for Hoosick Falls. "The state was here last night, and the streets were packed with fire equipment and emergency personnel."

Though recovery efforts are still nascent, town officials expect repairs to be costly.

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"It's going to cost millions of dollars to repair the damage that's been done here," said O'Malley.

Bennington County saw more moderate flooding, with Water Street in North Bennington closed into Sunday morning due to a blocked culvert.

"We had several basements flood last night, and we did about 14 pump-outs," said Fire Chief Steve Crawford. "The town is taking care of some road and culvert issues, there were a couple of washouts."

Saturday's storm resulted in multiple Vermont state road closures, including Route 133 in Pawlet, which reopened on Sunday. Heavy rains also caused overflow from Bennington's Wastewater Treatment facility and multiple manholes, resulting in untreated wastewater spilling into the Walloomsac River and surrounding tributaries.

As the weather forecast appears clear in the coming days, repair and recovery will be the top priority. While this process will be more moderate in Bennington County, a more extended effort is expected across the New York border.

"It's Hoosick Falls having another water situation," said Allen. "But it's also Hoosick Falls rising above, and showing their strength and determination to get through."

Reach Cherise Madigan at 802-490-6471.