Post-Irene report from Berne, NY - damage in the Helderberg Hilltowns

When I posted last time on Sunday little I knew what was coming ahead. Here in Berne, NY, it started to rain around 6 PM on Saturday and continued to do so for 24 hours. In total we got ten and a half inches of rain. When rain stopped, the wind picked up, and finally the power and cable went off (they were restored last night).

On Monday morning we started to use our generator to keep our freezers and fridge cool. Our water pump, and appliances like microwave and coffee maker are hooked up to the generator as well, so we were in a good shape. We cooked on the grill, we could take a shower. Ironically since Monday morning the weather has been warm and sunny. The damage to our property was minimal - an inch of water downstairs (on the tile floor it is not such a big deal) and a washed out driveway. We lost a tree that we liked, and the yard was covered with branches. But this was absolutely nothing in comparison to the damage caused by Irene at the bottom of the hill. Yes, luckily we live on the top of a hill, and consequently suffered very little.

A the bottom of our hill, 200 yards from us, Fox Creek was turned into Niagara Falls and gushed through the town center. It took out a local Agway store, which collapsed. The pictures will tell a better story than my words. All Upstate New York suffered greatly because of the flood, and many counties were declared an emergency area. Roads are closed, bridges are gone or ruined, houses and crops disappeared. In a nearby town of Clarksville a woman was swept away by gushing water in her backyard.

It will be a long time before things will go to "normal".

This road (Helderberg Trail) is still closed.

The center of Berne, NY

 

Agway store in the center of town.

 

 

For more info click here.