It's rained lot in the past few days, starting Thursday afternoon last week, when I went to Canandaigua to shoot my World Wide Panorama submission. Like most summer rain, it was on and off. On Monday, it rained most of the day when we drove up to Syracuse. On the drive home, the rain started getting heavy, and then it simply didn't stop. Yesterday morning, I went with Leah to her office to help her to find some papers. I took the car home, and noticed that our street had been closed off. I picked her up in the afternoon, after the university told all non-essential personnel to go home. It was still a deluge of rain. Chestnut Street heading into downtown Oneonta had been blocked off, leading me to suspect that part of downtown had flooded. I've never seen it rain so heavily for so long. In the evening, we went to Taco Bell and Hannaford. It was 8:30, but the dining room at Taco Bell was closed and we were told to use the drive through. Only this morning did we realize that there was a state of emergency in effect. Needless to say, we stayed home today. It stopped raining, for today anyway, leaving us in the surreal position of being nice and dry on a steamy summer day, with the world around us apparently under water.
It was only when I brought in the morning newspaper and saw the photos of flooding downtown that we realized how wet it really had gotten. Watching the news throughout the day, we saw image after image of major flooding, especially downstream in Binghamton, and later in Pennsylvania.
Leah and I went for a little walk in the neighborhood this evening, both to get outside and to see what we could see. It was sunny and hot, and as I mentioned, our little neighborhood is dry. The street (Country Club Rd - we live just off of it) has been blocked off to non-local traffic since at least yesterday morning, however, so we had a feeling there was more trouble down the hill. The first thing we saw was another detour sign at the last street in the neighborhood. Unfortunately, a downed tree made the detour less than functional.
We continued past the detour sign, as did several cars (violating the no-driving rule, I guess.) We then watched the same cars coming back in the other direction. Just around the curve in the road in the above photo, the road goes downhill, and eventually over Otego Creek on a small bridge. We thought the flooding might be at the bridge, but we didn't even get that far. This is probably about a quarter mile from our house (definitely less than half a mile on the road)
The bridge is off in the distance, probably also under water. The water is actually flowing from the right in these pictures, which is usually a golf course quite a few feet lower than the road level. A smallish creek is what I normally see on the left on my walks. That creek is also normally much lower than the level of the road. Though badly overexposed, here's a panorama of this location.
Turning around, we headed back up the hill and into the country club golf course that sits behind the neighborhood. The golf course has two levels; the upper level is at the same altitude as our neighborhood. >From the topographic map of the area, it looks as though the lower portion is about 40 feet lower. Given the difference in altitude between the course and the road, I'd estimate that this area is about 30ft below us (though I wasn't out there with an altimeter.) Anyway, back to the golf course. Here's a view from a green on the upper level, with the water in the background.
At the edge, a panorama looking down:
In front of the waters, you can see the path leading to the lower level. Leah and I headed down it until we ran out of path and the mosquitoes started getting crazy.
It looks like a tranquil pond if it weren't for the fact that it's supposed to be a golf course, and that tranquil pond is running out onto the road below.
Given how close this is to our house, we're feeling even more fortunate after this walk than we did before it. Tomorrow, weather permitting, we're going to ride our bikes down to see the Susquehanna. Unaware of the state of emergency, we went out last night to grab some food, and the river was roiling brown and well over its usual level. Downstream in Binghamton and Wilkes-Barre it's causing even more serious trouble. We're counting our blessings ...
This morning, Leah and I went on a bike ride around town to see what things looked like. We started down Hwy 205, towards the Oneonta Susquehanna Greenway Trail where we've walked on several prior occasions. The Greenway loops around the Oneonta Wastewater Treatment plant, as well as the school bus lot and other municipal maintenance facilities. The area is sandwiched in between the river and I-88, and in the news this morning, we learned that the wastewater plant was flooded and out of commission. That was our first stop. Here is the area from the road above:
I walked down the access road as far as I could go, and the smell of gasoline became more and more powerful. Between sewage and gasoline, that water must have been seriously toxic. I stayed clear of the water, shot a few photos and got myself out of there.
Just beyond the plant, the road goes over the Susquehanna River. We got our first glimpse of the river since Tuesday night. This image was taken heading eastward (upstream).
Back on our bikes, we headed back north, up Oneida Street and then down Chestnut towards downtown. Rather than heading directly downtown, we headed south, again towards the river. I again stopped on the bridge over the river to take more photos, and ran into some folks we know from the college. There were also surveying the river, and reflecting on the situation. Less than a month ago, they had paddled the river in the General Clinton Canoe Regatta, and now it looked like this.
Heading back towards downtown, we detoured to take a peek at Neahawa Park, the main park in the city. It is the site of various activities, including the annual 4th of July fireworks, and the location of the baseball stadium. The mayor issued a statement this afternoon that the Independence Day festivities had all been canceled, and I don't image the Oneonta Tigers will be playing any home games in the near future.
Here's a closer view of the park:
We rode up South Main Street, which had been a river on Tuesday, observing the torn up pavement in places, and the piles of soggy carpet that had been pulled out of the buildings. By then, it was getting time for lunch and we were getting a little tired, so we headed back home. It's been quite a week.
The flood waters receded down the street, so Leah and I went back to see the outcome. I went back with my camera that evening. The road was dry, but still out of commission.
As much as one knows that water can be a deadly force, we were still awed by the scene before us, which looked like a Dali painting far more that a country road, as the road seemed to pour down towards the creek.
The asphalt was lifted right up off the surface of the road by the force of the water.
The water also completely eroded the shoulder and into the lower substrates of the road.
The golf course was no longer a lake, but everything is caked in a layer of mud, showing the waterline at least ten feet up the big tree in the foreground.
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