June 28, 2006
Last year we had flooding that we thought was bad then; now this has become the worst. With rain and thunderstorms on Tuesday June 27, 2006, Wednesday was a hassle with clean up and State of Emergencies in 9 counties. The Susquehanna and Chenango Rivers took out everything in their paths.
With Conklin being the worst hit area around here, many people were forced to leave their homes and pets behind with a 4 am morning wake up call. Grabbing just the essentials for now, they were shipped to various parts of the Twin Tiers where there are shelters set up; the biggest shelter being the Binghamton University Event Center where over 1,500 people came in to get some help. The National Guard helped move and transport many, many people in helicopters to the shelters around the area.
The water was big and powerful all over though. Even the Court Street flood wall wasn't strong enough to stand the power of the muddy water. Making the flood wall crack was a problem, but when it toppled over the top of the wall, then it was a bigger mess then expected. Crews did their best to make everything stay under control. Many roads were blocked off throughout Wednesday all the way into today and surely for a while until the rivers return to normal.
As the water rushes through Binghamton, Governor George Pataki made sure to stop and take a look. He made it clear in a press conference held at Commerce Park in Binghamton on Riverside Drive on Wednesday; he would do his best to get relief help money from FEMA. Assessing the damage in the Twin Tiers to be more than 100 million dollars, U.S. Senators Hillary Clinton and Charles Schumer took time out to talk to the evacuees and listen to their stories on Friday June 30, 2006.
While others try to get their lives on track now again, a lot still have the damage. Many still are forced to stay out of their homes although they are being aloud to go in for a short while to retrieve valuables and animals, others are kayaking and canoeing around to see damage and many businesses are trying to clean out the damage that will in turn cost a lot of money to repair.
Debra Vincent says, “I am just one of the lucky ones. I didn't lose a home, just my car. Many people lost their cars and homes during this time, some were seen floating down the river and some were just unable to be seen at all. I honestly don't know where my car is right now. One minute is supposed to be getting tires and inspection at Vince's Garage in Conklin and the next minute, I don't know. It could be floating to the Chesapeake Bay by now,” Debra laughs. “I really don't know.” No one does because no one can get anywhere in Conklin. No one does know. Vince's Garage was just one of many businesses that were tore apart. And as things slowly return to normal and the rivers slowly recede, this of course isn't the last time we will see this much water. There will be other times.
