Heavy rains affect many Upstate NY farms

Heavy rains have affected many upstate farms, even after the devastating impact from Irene. The NY Farm Bureau has offered a list of resources available to farmers dealing with flood damage.

Here are a few articles about the issue:
Schoharie County was hit especially hard, according to NYS Ag and Markets
Farm vendors at NYS's GreenMarket comment on damage
Dine Out Irene is a fundraiser for NYC-area farms devastated by flooding

Yesterday, Governor Cuomo requested federal assistance to aid flood-ravaged areas. Here are excerpts from a press release:

"Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today directed state emergency resources to the Southern Tier and surrounding counties and requested emergency and major disaster declarations from the federal government, in response to the severe flash flooding and major flood conditions that have developed in portions of the Southern Tier, Southern Finger Lakes, Hudson Valley, Capital Region, Central New York and Southwestern Regions of the State, and many areas previously affected by Hurricane Irene.

'With the recent heavy rains and severe flash flooding, we are on the verge of a crisis and federal assistance is urgently needed to help protect New Yorkers,' Governor Cuomo said. 'I have directed state resources to areas that are currently experiencing widespread flooding to assist with emergency procedures.'

In the last 24 hours, New York has experienced another round of severe weather that rivals – and may even exceed – the devastation seen in previous flooding events, including the floods of 2006. Communities in eastern and central New York, from the southern Adirondacks to the Pennsylvania border, who were struggling to clean up and rebuild after Irene, are facing another onslaught of devastation. Since yesterday, Tropical Storm Lee has produced in excess of ten inches of rain in some places. This, on top of the rains dumped on New York State last week from Hurricane Irene, is causing major havoc in many places across the State today. To make matters worse, additional heavy rainfall is likely in some of these same locations today.

Many areas across the State, from the Finger Lakes to the Hudson Valley, have experienced significant flooding, declared States of Emergency, and have implemented mandatory evacuations. Broome County has experienced some of the worst impacts, prompting mandatory evacuations in the Village of Johnson City, the Town of West Corners, the Town of Vestal, Town of Union and the Town of Conklin. The City of Binghamton has ordered the mandatory evacuation of approximately 20,000 people. Evacuations have also taken place in the Village of Margaretville in Delaware County and the Village of Middleburgh in Schoharie County.

Major flooding is occurring and will continue for many locations late into this evening. The Susquehanna River at Binghamton reached major flood stage on Wednesday morning and surpassed its record flood stage of 25 feet on Thursday morning. The river is now at 25.3 feet and expected to crest at 26.2 feet by Thursday evening. At Owego, the Susquehanna River’s record flood stage was 32 feet – it is already at 38 feet and expected to crest at near 40 feet later this evening. Also of major concern at this time are the Chenango River, the Unadilla River, and the Oneida Creek, as well as many other areas where major flooding is also forecasted." read more