As a first time visitor to the flood damaged Schoharie Valley, I was really struck. At first, with the homes and businesses still standing, things don’t look that bad. Furniture at the curb, some dumpsters, messes piled in the streets....that could be expected. I worked with you for the day, on a home in the early phase of recovery, that still resembled a home, with a few pieces of nice furniture inside.
Jackie had a lovely older home above the creek, and shared with me her fond memories of life along that beautiful stretch of water. It was sunny yesterday and the beauty of the place was certainly there, even with the still muddy water flowing by. The Schoharie appeared to have risen about 30 feet above normal level to have created the water line on her windows....a unimaginable 500 year flood. The creek is not hemmed in by man-made structures there, there is a big flood plain, so the amount of water flow necessary to do this is hard to conceive in the mind. This was not the annual Schenectady Stockade Flood.
At the end of the day though, we visited a home that was nearly ready for reconstruction, and that was the most devastating. In order to get rid of sources of mold or wet material, the home had been gutted down to the studs, and it looked like the exterior siding would also have to come off, to remove the wet sheathing under the siding. Kitchen cabinets, bathroom fixtures, silt-filled heating ducts, wallboard of course....all gone. Inside, you can look straight through the whole house wall to wall. It looks almost normal from the street, but it is an empty shell. Except for the roof, framing and windows, the owners are faced with building a new home and then furnishing it. And winter will arrive too soon.
I was pleased to see local churches down there serving as volunteer coordinators, but so much more is needed.
John O.
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