Flash Flood — Albany, New York

2011-08-28 · near Clarksville, Albany, New York

Event narrative

A woman died when she was swept into the Onesquethaw Creek near her home on Slingerlands Avenue in Clarksville. The time of her death is estimated.

Wider weather episode

Tropical Storm Irene tracked north northeast across eastern New York and western New England during Sunday, August 28th, producing widespread flooding, and damaging winds across the region.

Irene tracked from a position over New York City around 8 AM EST Sunday, to approximately 10 miles west of Danbury, CT at 10 AM EST, to approximately 15 miles south of Pittsfield, MA at 1 PM EST Sunday, to approximately 65 miles south of Rutland, VT at 4 PM EST.

The greatest impact from Irene across eastern New York and western New England was heavy to extreme rainfall, which resulted in catastrophic flooding across portions of the region. Rainfall amounts generally averaged 4 to 8 inches across the region, although amounts of 8 to 12 inches were common across higher elevations within the eastern Catskills and Schoharie Valley, with localized amounts of 12 to 18 inches reported. Three to 6 inches were common across the Lake George and Saratoga region and across much of the Mohawk Valley, although locally higher amounts of up to 8 inches fell across extreme southwest Herkimer County, while amounts of only 2 to 4 inches fell across the western Adirondacks. Much of the rain which fell occurred within a 12 hour period, beginning early Sunday morning, and ending Sunday evening.

A new New York State 24 hour precipitation record was set by a National Weather Service rain (Fischer Porter) gage at Tannersville in Greene County with 11.60 inches on August 28th, 2011. An unofficial amount of 18.20 inches in 24 hours was reported by a weather spotter in Maplecrest in Greene County.

This heavy to extreme rainfall resulted in widespread flash flooding and river flooding across eastern New York. Bridges were closed on I-90, I-88, US Route 20, New York Route 7, New York Route 5S, New York Route 161, New York Route 30, and all bridges over the Schoharie Creek, from the Gilboa Dam to the Mohawk River. The bridge on Route 85 at Onesquethaw Creek was closed due to a westbound lane washout. The Route 146 bridge over the Normanskill Creek in the Town of Guilderland was closed between Route 20 and Route 158.

Record flooding occurred at 10 river gages in east central New York with major flooding occurring at 6 and moderate flooding at 4.

In Greene County, catastrophic flooding was reported countywide, especially in the Catskill areas, where widespread evacuations and rescues occurred, along with widespread road closures and damage, and houses which were swept away. Record flooding occurred on the Schoharie Creek at Prattsville. The river gage was washed away by the flood wave and the crest was determined by floodmark.

In Schoharie County, catastrophic flooding also occurred throughout the Schoharie Valley, with widespread evacuations of 5000 occurring, including in the jurisdictions of Esperance, the Village of Central Bridge, Schoharie, Middleburgh, Blenheim, Gilboa, and Fulton. Numerous bridges were closed or washed out. Record floods were set at all the gages along the Schoharie Creek: Prattsville, Gilboa Dam, Gilboa Bridge, Breakabeen and Burtonsville. The river gage at Prattsville and Gilboa Bridge were washed away by the flood wave and the gage at Burtonsville was damaged by flood waters. Crests for these locations were determined by floodmark.

In Ulster County, extensive damage to roads, bridges, and electrical infrastructure was reported, with the majority of roads impassable across the Catskills. Five rescues were performed by the Ulster County Sheriffs Department swift water team for people driving into the water, with numerous mandatory evacuations also occurring. Record flooding occurred on the Esopus Creek at Cold Brook, the Rondout Creek at Rosendale, and the Hudson River at Poughkeepsie, with major flooding occurring on the Esopus Creek at Mount Marion and moderate flooding at the Ashokan Reservior East. The river gage at Poughkeepsie was damaged by flood waters.

In Schenectady and Albany counties, flash flooding was reported in numerous locations. In Schenectady County, evacuations of 300 to 400 people occurred in Rotterdam Junction, and the Stockade region of Schenectady. Over 70 roads were closed, including the New York State Thruway from exit 25A in Schenectady to exit 34A in Syracuse, a length of approximately 117 miles. In Albany County, numerous roads were also closed, including the New York State Thruway from exit 24 in Albany to exit 8 in White Plains due to flooding and downed trees. Major flooding occurred on the Hudson River at Albany and on the Mohawk River at Schenectady with moderate flooding at Cohoes.

In Rensselaer and Dutchess counties, flash flooding was reported in several locations. In Dutchess County, numerous roads and bridges were closed or damaged due to flooding and downed trees, with mandatory evacuations reported. In Rensselaer County, numerous road closures were also reported, with one bridge damaged, and 60 evacuations reported. In addition, record flooding was reported on the Hudson River at Poughkeepsie, while major flooding occurred on the Hoosic River at Eagle Bridge, on the Hudson River at Troy, and on Wappingers Creek at Wappingers Falls. Moderate flooding was reported on the Tenmile River at Webatuck, with minor flooding occurring on the Hudson River at Waterford.

In Washington and Saratoga counties, flash flooding was reported in numerous locations, with numerous roads closed due to flooding and downed trees and power lines. Evacuations were also reported, including in Waterford. Also, record flooding occurred on the Mettawee River at Granville, with moderate flooding occurring on the Battenkill at Battenville, on the Mohawk River at Cohoes, and minor flooding on the Hudson River at Waterford.

In Montgomery County, flash flooding was also reported in numerous locations, along with many road closures, and approximately 1000 evacuations. Record flooding occurred on the Canajoharie Creek in Canajoharie.

In Herkimer County, flash flooding was reported countywide, with a debris flow reported in Frankfort, along with numerous road closures due to flooding and downed trees. A mudslide was reported along New York State Route 51. In addition, in the Village of Frankfort, approximately 80 elderly residents of an apartment building were evacuated.

Flash flooding was also reported in numerous locations within Warren, Fulton and Columbia counties. In Warren County, more than 40 roads were closed due to flooding and downed trees. In Columbia County, numerous roads were also closed due to flooding and downed trees. In addition, approximately 1000 people were evacuated from the area around the Philmont Dam due to concerns about a possible dam compromise. Minor flooding was reported on the Sacandaga River at Hope in Hamilton County.

Four deaths occurred due to flooding from Irene. In Greene County, one death occurred when a woman drowned when the house she was in was swept away by floodwaters in Maplecrest. A man drowned when the embankment he was standing on gave way and swept him into Stony Clove Creek in Lanesville. In Albany County, a woman was washed into Onesquethaw Creek in the town of Clarksville and drowned. In Montgomery County, a man drowned when the truck he was in was swept away by the Schoharie Creek on Route 5S.

Strong winds also occurred across eastern New York, with frequent wind gusts of 35 to 55 mph, along with locally stronger wind gusts exceeding 60 mph. The strongest winds occurred from the north to northeast during the morning hours, then from the west to northwest during the mid to late afternoon hours. The combination of strong winds, and extremely saturated soil led to numerous downed trees and power lines across the region. This also resulted in widespread long duration power outages.

In particular, the approximate number of customers affected by power outages included:

Albany County, 36000.

Columbia County, 6000.

Dutchess County, 25000.

Fulton County, 7000.

Greene County, 18000.

Hamilton County, 7200.

Herkimer County, 2500.

Montgomery County, 7000.

Saratoga County, 24000.

Schenectady County, 26000.

Schoharie County, 9000.

Warren County, 23000.

Washington County, 4500.

Ulster County, 60000.

On August 31st, 2011 a Major Disaster Declaration was declared, FEMA-4020-DR. This declaration made Individual Assistance available to 28 counties in New York State including Albany, Columbia, Dutchess, Greene, Herkimer, Montgomery, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, Ulster, Washington and Warren counties in east central New York. Public Assistance was made available to 30 counties including Albany, Columbia, Dutchess, Greene, Hamilton, Herkimer, Montgomery, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, Ulster, Washington and Warren counties in east central New York. Only Fulton County in east central New York had no designation.

In addition, the declaration made Hazard Mitigation Grant Program assistance available. It was estimated that in New York State 861 residences were impacted with 66 destroyed, 673 sustaining major damage, 37 sustaining minor damage, and 85 categorized as affected (still habitable with some damage to structure and contents).

Individual Assistance: assistance to individuals and households. Public Assistance: assistance to state and local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations for emergency work and repair or replacement if disaster-damaged facilities.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (42.5747, -73.9602)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 340787. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.