Snow Melt Floods in New York State

by in USA

The warmer weather brought some flooding to parts of New York state late last week and over the weekend.

In Sunset Bay NY, residents had to evacuate their homes and take up temporary shelter provided by the Red Cross in a nearby church. Flood waters had begin to rise so rapidly on Friday 21 February 2014, it was felt to be too dangerous for people to remain in their homes.

The flooding was caused by fairly typical circumstances in this region at this time of year. An ice jam had blocked the nearby Cattaraugus Creek, leaving flowing water further upsream with nowhere else to go but over river banks and into nearby low lying streets. The ice jam aslo caused problems for Hanover residents.

According to local media, Sunset Bay Fire First Assistant Fire Chief Mark Dietzen said on Saturday that they were still monitoring the creek levels.

Elsewhere in New York state, residents of Troy, NY, saw similar flooding as warmer temperatures and some rainfall began to quickly melt snow. Local reports say that some streets and sidewalks were flooded on Friday 21 February. Local media said that traffic was struggling to negotiate some roads which were almost impassable.

Making matters worse is the fact that, after the long stretch of very cold weather, ice has blocked many parts of the city’s drainage system.