THE 300-YEAR FLOOD • BY: LINDA SONES
“From June 26 through June 28, 2006, the combination of tropical moisture and a stalled cold front produced flash f looding and river f looding across portions of the Upper Susquehanna, Delaware and Chenango River Basins of central New York and northeast Pennsylvania”.
National Weather Service Binghamton, NY Weather Forecast Office
The rain had been heavy the last couple of days. The National Weather Service had Weather Watches and Warnings out for our region. I was woken around 6 AM the morning of June 28th, 2006, by the sound of the little run that cut across our small farm, rushing through like it was the Susquehanna River. That was odd. We could never hear the run from the house before. I looked out my window and I could see that our one-foot wide run had turned into a creek covering the bottom half of our yard and out into the field. I woke my family and we went out to assess our property. As we approached the run, we realized it wasn’t our run we that we heard, but Huntington Creek, approximately 260 yards away. We looked over the bank and saw a raging river full of logs, debris, and mud. Over 12 inches of rain had fallen into the headwaters of Huntington Creek that night and it was wreaking havoc as it journeyed to the Susquehanna River. This flood would become known as the 300-Year Flood, as no other flood in recorded history has matched its destruction along this creek. Our concerns now turned to our friends and the covered bridges along the creek. We learned that our friend’s home was underwater but they were safe and most of their belongings were on dry land. However, our beloved covered bridges were in great jeopardy. Our first stop was at the Josiah Hess Covered Bridge. The water was beating on its side with great force and the southwest corner of the bridge was dropping down into the abutment. If it makes it through the day and the waters recede, it has a chance of surviving. Since the Josiah Hess seemed safe, for now, we moved on to the Twin Covered Bridges a mile down the road. A large group of neighbors had gathered to witness the flooding. Both bridges, East Paden and West Paden, were being hammered by water, logs, and debris. The raging water was up to the bridge decks. The East
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