Flooding

“On the way home from Treebeard's Underground Railroad trip yesterday, traffic was backed up along Rte 611 just north of Easton. A 4-foot diameter boulder had fallen from a cliff and landed on the right front fender of a car, crushing that part of the car. Ran into some water running across the road and lying in low spots, but not until I was almost home did I run into a serious flooding detour. I had to make a round-about trip to my pizza joint.

The Delaware is supposed to crest at Trention about 1 a.m. tomorrow.”

“yea it's been pretty bad.... batmanluke and i went out to dinner last night and hit 3 different detours.... wound up taking us an hour when it should have been a 20 minute drive.”

“I've been wondering how the Black Forest hike would be doing. The news from a local is that the Pine Creek was getting high. Hope the water isn't high enough to soak their cars at the trail head.”

“Welcome to my neighborhood, Geo. It's a good thing you weren't going that way today. 611 is under water on both sides of town. It's a short walk to where the Lehigh and Delaware meet in Easton, and I took some pics this afternoon. This was around 2pm, and the Delaware isn't supposed to crest until 1am, so I imagine the flooding will get a lot worse. The water is right up to the bottom of the Free Bridge, and I fear it will get flooded over, which hasn't happened since 1955.

Easton Pa flood - April 2005

This really messes up my commute since I have to cross both the Lehigh and Delaware to get to work.
last edited: 4/03/05 7:14:15 PM”

“Earlier today on TV they gave a report that a flood wave was going to be moving down the Laxawaxen River and then down the Delaware and that evacuations were under way. I was wondering what could cause the flood wave and I figured it had to be that they were forced to release water from Lake Wallenpaupack, which flows into the Laxawaxen and then into the Delaware, so I took a ride down to the dam. Along the way I could see the lake was at levels way beyond anything I had ever seen before and when I got to the dam sure enough they had raised the gates and allowed the water flow over the spill way. This is the first time I’ve ever seen this happen and it was pretty impressive. About ½ mile below the dam in the usually dry riverbed are a series of falls that because of the dam no longer have water flowing over them, but today those falls came to life and with the volume of water coming over the spillway they were an awesome sight to see.”

“We had pretty bad flooding up here too and the rivers reached about the same levels when Ivan struck last year. I didn't hear about road damage from mudslides like last September though. Maybe because the ground is still a little frozen.

It's a good thing the Black Forest hike was cancelled and I wouldn't want to be parked right next to Pine Creek with all the runoff coming down from the mountains. I'd imagine the trails out there are flooded as well. I went for a short hike in the local woods and everything is a flooded mess that's no fun hiking on.”

“They have a flood warning for the Hudson. Hope I can get to work tomorrow. My office is less than a block from the river.”

“Yeah man, I was driving by the Weston Canal this afternoon near Manville, NJ, and it was totally overflown. They even had a rescue squad out to apparently save some fisherman that were stranded on the tow path along the canal, as both the river and canal were totally overflown.

Man, there was water all the way out into the cornfields surrounding the damn thing. It looked more like a lake than a river. Man, I don't think I've ever seen this thing so high before...”

“The Perkiomen crested at a little over 14ft at Graterford early this morning. They start closing some bridges in the area at 12ft; glad I wasn't out last night.

I worry about you folks up in the Lehigh Valley starting to have the stream problems we're having here in the Philly 'burbs: with all of the development and increased impervious surface area, average streamflows drop markedly, while peak storm flows increase just as bad or worse. I think of this everytime I see all of the construction going on around Macungie and Saucon, thinking the Jordan, L.Lehigh, and Saucon creeks will soon have the same trouble we're having on the Perky, the Neshaminy, and the Wissahickon.


Hope your commute isn't too bad tomorrow.”

“Flood Data for NY. I didn't do a lot of digging so I'm not sure if other states are linked on the site. Not surprising that there are a lot of black dots in the Catskills. Much of that area got between 5" - 6" of rain from this weekend’s storm.

http://waterdata.usgs.gov/ny/nwis/rt
last edited: 4/03/05 10:00:16 PM”

“Wow... what's up with all the flooding??

You guys getting a lot of rain?”

“Only 2 days worth of straight rain.”

“Yeah, lotsa rain here in the Northeast, but then again it is April, and it's pretty much expected 'round here this time of the year.

Most of these comments are really us just complaining, as this weather makes for some really lousy backpacking (1 trip cancelled to the bad weather so far already).”

“That sucks... guess I shouldn't tell you that today I was hiking amongst the Colorado Rockies in 3 feet of snow across 3 frozen lakes while it was 75 degrees out and so sunny I got a sunburn?
last edited: 4/03/05 10:44:51 PM”

“A bunch of roads & bridges washed out in the Catskills. Many people could not make it into work. A few people are missing & mega dollars in damage.”

“Incredible pics, Pennsy. Hope everyone stays safe.”

“The CT river in Hartford is definately flooded. The charter oak bridge's morrings are under about 8 feet of water right now. Last spring I took a walk under that bridge...

-percious”

“crazy pics, penns!”

“job security for me!”

“Things got a whole lot worse since I posted. Yeah Pennsy, I saw TV pix of a 611 sign with the water nearly up to the sign. I think I got through there in the nick of time.

Some ponds and lakes along the way were so full of water even when I drove through that it was washing over the tops of the dams. The little creek near Kintnersville that you could normally step across was a raging torrent 15 yards wide about 6:30 p.m. Saturday.

Water was gushing out of every hole along the highway, washing across the road, all the way down.

They're saying this was the worst flooding in 50 years. That would be the 1955 floods after two hurricanes went up the coast.

Some people along the Delaware had just gotten through making repairs from last summer's flooding. One couple had not even moved back into their house. They were supposed to do that next weekend.

Folks, when you are buying property along a river, get the Army Corps of Engineers flood plain maps and check the location out on those. You will save yourself tons of grief!”

“That sucks! We were saying the same thing... All those people that just had cleaned up or rebuilt from last year!”

“Great Pix Pennsy. I was there, but not at that time thank heaven.”

“The Kennebec is supposed to crest around 2pm today at 5ft above flood level (18ft). It's been rising from the rains over the last few days, and this morning lots of ice is coming down...it's pretty wild looking. When we went to Canada in January, the ice jams were higher than the road, so the coast guard cutters had plenty to do.”

“The Delaware is expected to start receding this afternoon. Now we need a few sunny days to dry out.”

“Just read the Times Express coverage. PPL began letting water out of Lake Wallenpaupack at 3:30 p.m. Sunday and will continue doing so until water level returns to normal.

The crest at Easton was over 35 feet, higher than Ivan last fall. Similar reports are coming in all along the river.

The Times Express didn't have a report on the car that got smashed by the boulder. Other than that, they did a fairly good job of covering the flood.

I was thinking about camping in Worthington State Forest along the Delaware over the weekend. When I saw the weather forecast for the weekend, I decided not to. Good thing, it turns out.”

“Trenton, NJ - the Delaware River is at the highest stage it's been at for a very long time -- don't know if it's record or not. Both highways 29 (NJ side) and 32 (PA side) south of New Hope were completely closed all morning, along with about half the bridges over the Delaware River.

I think the 29 tunnel that connects into downtown Trenton is still closed because it's still pretty much underwater, and the 202 bridge (a pretty big highway bridge) at New Hope was just opened late this afternoon.”

“Flooding, woo hoo. ;-)

http://waterdata.usgs.gov/ms/nwis/uv?02479000

My Fish Camp on the Pascagoula River has several feet of water flowing under it right now.
We had almost 4 inches of rain in less than two days.
last edited: 4/04/05 6:50:16 PM”

“A man drowned kayaking in the flooded waters yesterday. I heard of someone else jet skiing on the Kennebec.
I know that many streams can only be run in the spring and people look forward to this time of year - done it myself - but this is more than just the spring freshet, it's freakin' flood for cripes sakes. Complete with whole trees, huge chunks of ice and a variety of other debris, not to mention the force of the water.
I guess the guy was in a touring boat, which almost immediately capsized, got pinned between two trees and held there.”

“my area's flooding pretty bad.

bridges all around me are washing out.

http://www.wktv.com/news/local/3245496.html

http://www.wktv.com/news/local/3244646.html”

“woah! head for high ground!”

“dang.....find a safe place and becareful!”

“A lot of flooding in eastern PA.

Looking at river levels on the NOAA website it looks like levels on the upper Delaware River between PA and NY have gone above the previous record highs.”

“All you east coasters who are going out this weekend should use some caution. Hope you keep dry, sacco. Keep us posted.”

“We got @14 inches between Sunday & last night. Drying out now.......I think.”

““We got @14 inches between Sunday & last night. Drying out now.......I think.”
bearmagnet

......and three fingers of scotch??

Sacco, any advice on route for Friday?”

“Should have posted this here, not on the 15 minutes thread...

Pic 19.

They didn't quite get all the info right...not "our" house and not in Mont Clare. Her house is behind the white fence on the left in pic 17. She got about 3 feet of water in the first floor of her house.”

“Hope yall are ok Fritz. I've been wondering if any peeps I knew were getting all wet.”

“crazy water in some areas...and then in others, everything is back to normal.”

“The Hudson outside of work looked crazy today. There's a riverside park and marina a half a block from my building that has a peer that runs along the river. Normally the water is about 10' below the top of the peer. It looks like it’s about a 1 to 2 feet below it today. I’ll be keeping my eye on things today incase they evacuate downtown. I don’t think this will happen because the river is supposed to start receding sometime this morning.”

“pier”

“Damn spelling nazi. I ain't had my coffee yet this morning.”

“I'm sure it's friendly, MarkO.

Nice shot, Fritz.”

“Good morning, Zac Lumbo!!

Ha ha, I just can't forget stuff like, "i" before "e", except after "c"!!!”

“Mid-Atlantic States Reel Under Deluge; 10 Dead
Richard Perry/The New York Times

A gas station off Route 17 near Roscoe, in Sullivan County, N.Y, was swamped by water Wednesday from the flooded Beaver Kill.

Article Tools Sponsored By
By ALAN FEUER
Published: June 29, 2006

A network of swollen rivers, heavy from days of steady rain, spilled across their banks yesterday, threatening to inundate towns and cities from Virginia to Vermont and causing thousands of evacuations along the banks of the Susquehanna and Delaware Rivers in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Two hundred thousand residents threatened by the rising Susquehanna were ordered to leave the Wilkes-Barre, Pa., area, directed by radio broadcasts to high schools, police stations and firehouses for shelter. Thousands more were evacuated from their homes in the region. At G.A.R. High School in Wilkes-Barre last night, more than 250 people, mostly elderly or infirm, were camped out on cots and on the floor. In the auditorium a platoon of the elderly nodded off in stiff fold-down seats.

Earlier in the week, Washington suffered the worst two days of rain in its history.

A two-punch combination of saturated earth and rising currents led to at least 10 deaths and reports of two houses, one with a 15-year-old girl trapped inside, set adrift. The day of devastation led the governors of New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania to declare emergencies across wide swaths of their states. The potential for destruction was so widespread and unpredictable that the National Weather Service issued flood warnings for eight states.

Even as the sun began to break out in parts of the Northeast, officials warned that the worst might be yet to come. Residents in parts of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Virginia were cautioned that more flooding might occur today as rivers crested their banks.

The damage from the floods was still being tallied late last night, and the reports were sobering. Two truck drivers died near Sidney, N.Y., 35 miles from Binghamton, when their rigs plunged into a 50-foot-deep hole in the washed-out bed of Interstate 88, and a 15-year-old Pennsylvania boy as well as someone trying to rescue him drowned in a lake in Luzerne County, officials said.

Gov. Edward G. Rendell of Pennsylvania declared emergencies in 46 of the state's 67 counties and activated 1,000 members of the National Guard, saying the storms were "a major hardship." Entire villages in Delaware County, N.Y., were left stranded. Several people were reported missing, their fates unknown.

The storms were fiercest, Mr. Miner said, in a corridor that ran from Virginia through eastern Pennsylvania to central New York, where Binghamton received 4.05 inches of rain on Tuesday — the most in one day in the city's history.

The most intense flooding seemed to be occurring along the banks of three rivers: the Susquehanna, the Delaware and the Schuylkill. Officials said they expected the Susquehanna to crest its 41-foot floodwalls today.

In Binghamton, 3,000 people were evacuated from hospitals and homes, even as the stranded sipped cocktails on the terrace of the Holiday Inn downtown and watched the Chenango River breach its banks. Nearby, floodwaters lapped the retaining walls of the Susquehanna. Divers and boats of the New York State Police were helping the evacuees.

At the same time, the Delaware was also rising quickly, officials in New Jersey said, in part because upriver in New York and Pennsylvania, some towns and cities had opened floodgates to empty their own flooding lakes into the river.

"Believe it or not," said Col. Joseph R. Fuentes, superintendent of the New Jersey State Police, "they're getting even more rain than we are."

Don Maurer, spokesman for the New York State Emergency Management Office, confirmed that some upriver towns had opened their floodgates, saying it was standard procedure in a downpour.

"They're trying to minimize the release, however," he said, "because they're well aware of the impact downstream."

The Delaware was expected to crest this afternoon at 28 feet — 3 feet higher than in the severe flooding in April 2005. By last night the floods had already shut down parts of Trenton, as Gov. Jon S. Corzine ordered most state buildings to be closed through today. Six thousand people in New Jersey were evacuated, mostly in Trenton, and officials there said it was the city's worst flooding since 1955. The State House was kept open, although the main highway to the building, Route 29, was closed for several miles near downtown Trenton.

At a news conference several blocks from the river in a neighborhood called the Island, Mr. Corzine said, "We're standing on a spot that in the next 24 to 36 hours we expect to be under water."

The Schuylkill River was expected to crest in Philadelphia this morning. It flooded over its banks yesterday, closing Kelly Drive on the east side of the river, and later Martin Luther King Jr. Drive on the west. Admiral Wilson Boulevard, the main road to the Benjamin Franklin Bridge into downtown Philadelphia from New Jersey, was flooded yesterday morning as well.

At the Pepacton Reservoir in Delaware County, N.Y., which supplies drinking water to New York City, the water was flowing over the dam's spillway last night at 19,721 cubic feet per second, said Nicole Franzese, Delaware County's planning director. The county was one of nine in New York placed in a state of emergency by Gov. George E. Pataki.

And although much of the rain had tapered off by yesterday afternoon, the number of streams and rivers reported to be flooding continued to pile up, including the Roanoke River in Virginia and the Mohawk and Neversink Rivers in New York. Even Esopus and Rondout Creeks in New York State rose above their banks.

The overflowing Cattail Brook in Livingston Manor, N.Y., suddenly swept one house from its foundation and, with the 15-year-old girl inside, dumped it in the water.

John Parker, a neighbor, said that rescue workers had been trying to reach the girl, whom he identified as Jamie Bertholf, a classmate of his daughter. She is missing and presumed dead.”

“I've been everywhere NYS in the past week. The waters were high but it didn't look that bad until yesterday. Coming home from the Adirondacks last night, I was re-routed by a detour sign I hit in the morning. Last night there was a detour on the detour due to an accident. Got lost in the dark & heavy rain, Since I wouldn't open up my maps for the windinding backroads.”

“3 major floods on the Delaware in less than 2 years and it’s an election year. Can you say Tocks Island?
last edited: 6/29/06 7:19:14 AM”

“Yeah, I can say it.
But what does it mean, Conk?”

“Tocks Island is the location of a proposed dam on the Delaware just north of the Delaware Water Gap. It would have created a lake about 40 miles long and up to 140 feet deep. It would have been used for flood control hydroelectric power and drinking water. The project was eventually killed and the area became the DWG National Recreation area. The scary thing is the Army Corp of engineers determined the geology of the dam location would not support the dam. Even with that knowledge the politicians were going to go ahead with the dam anyway. The Delaware is currently the longest dam free river in the east.”

“For some reason I can't see your pic, Fritz. Maybe it expired?


We don't have any flooding but all the rain is causing problems. A 33-year-old man drown in the lake by our house on Tuesday and they haven't been able to find his body yet. They had to call off the search yesterday because all the rain churned up the mud. I'm guessing he might have gotten disoriented in the murky water too and couldn't tell which way is up. There is heavy vegetation he could have gotten tangled in.”

“Damn, that sucks. That's the kind of thing that can crash in your world within a community.”