Flood in Chenango County, New York

Record flooding occurred on the Unadilla River at Rockdale. The flooding beat the old record by one foot. The news stories about the record flooding were centered on a Mount Upton firefighter, who nearly lost his own life in a swift water rescue that sent a 5-year old boy to the hospital. The firefighter was swept into the Unadilla River, but was wearing a flotation device and was rescued himself. The other flood news was the enormous amout of dairy farmland and crops that were destroyed by flooding. The river reached the flood stage of 11 feet June 28th at 2:31 AM EDT. The river rose to the moderate flood level of 12 feet June 28th, at 5:45 AM EDT. The river rose to the major flood category of 13 feet June 28th at 10:00 AM EDT. The crest was 13.96 feet on June 29th, at 12:00 AM EDT. The old record at Rockdale was 12.98 feet set December 31, 1942. The basin average rainfall for June 26 to 29 was 5.92 inches.