People in Tioga and Broome counties are recovering from the damage of flash floods this past weekend. One of the worst hit places is Newark Valley, a small village in Tioga County (New York).
It sits along two creeks flowing toward the Susquehanna River.
No one was hurt or killed in the flash floods but streets and homes were damaged.
Newark Valley Mayor Jim Tornatore said a few people were evacuated and two streets will need to be rebuilt.
“The full extent of the residents' problems are not known exactly at this point…possibly I would say as an estimate, 25 homes,” Tornatore said.
About 10 miles away, the Church of the Nazarene in Owego is housing people displaced by the flooding. Pastor Jerrod Geistdorfer said up to 50 people can stay overnight in the church.
“We’re going to stay open to service their needs whatever they are. If they just want to come here and get a good rest before they go back and work on cleaning up their property, if they need to eat. We have tons of food,” he said.
In addition to food, Geistdorfer said the church has bedding, clothing, diapers and other things people might need. The church will be open through Thursday night (July 17).
Floods aren’t new to the Southern Tier. Even so, flash flood conditions are becoming more common.
“This area definitely is highly susceptible to flash flooding," said Adam Gill, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service Binghamton Office. "And then because we do get those warm humid air masses and you get those higher rainfall rates, it does make it even easier in that sense to get those flash flood events like what happened in Newark Valley.”
Gill said geography alone—thin top soil, hills, and rivers in valleys—makes the region one of two flash flood capitals in the country. The other is in Texas.
