By Lauren Weber
Newsday (New York)
Copyright 2006 Newsday, Inc.
SIDNEY, N.Y. — It’s been a difficult couple of months for Marge Ramsey. She closed on her house in this central New York town in April. Her husband passed away in May. And four days ago she watched as muddy brown water from the swollen Susquehanna River engulfed the first floor of her new home.
Friday, after two long nights at the local evacuation shelter, she was still able to take this latest setback in stride.
“There’s other people worse off,” said Ramsey, 60, as she gazed down River Street toward her home. The street itself was mostly impassable, having turned into a lagoon in spots. “We heard stories at the shelter about people who just watched their mobile homes float away.”
It was a day for people whose lives were upended by heavy rains and flooding to start putting things back together, grateful that the waters were finally receding. In the worst-hit neighborhoods in nearby Binghamton, residents received permission to return home briefly to pick up essentials and check on their homes’ conditions.
Here in Sidney, where a culvert collapse Wednesday caused the deaths of two truckers, firefighters — including 29 from Long Island — pumped water out of basements and searched for stranded pets and people.
High-level lawmakers also turned out in force. Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Charles Schumer, touring Binghamton’s waterfront, presented the floods as an opportunity for the Bush administration to redeem itself for the mistakes of Hurricane Katrina, by sending large infusions of cash and other resources.
Both senators said they’ve talked with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and with Gov. George Pataki, who will make the formal request for aid. On Thursday, Pataki estimated the financial impact at $100 million. Schumer called that “way too low.”
Pataki joined the governors of Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Maryland in seeking a disaster declaration. As many as 16 deaths in the four states were blamed on the deluge. In the waterlogged town of Conklin, Pataki said he expects President George W. Bush to declare a federal emergency as early as Saturday.
Many of the thousands evacuated during the past few days can’t even think that far ahead yet. They are still processing the devastation and dislocation of the past few days.
“I’ve lived here 15 years and the water’s never before come across the street,” said Sidney resident David Hares, 53, on the porch of a brown-shingled house bedecked with hanging plants. The stairs up to the porch had been washed away. “I think the house is totaled because of the foundation.”
Hares and his daughters Rachel and Allyson had snuck back into town to rescue their three cats. They ran through the soppy, slimy streets, hoping to avoid emergency vehicles.
Some of those vehicles belonged to fire departments from West Sayville, Selden, Holbrook and five other Long Island communities. They arrived Friday morning and immediately set to work, inspecting buildings and pumping cellars.
“We’re a small, rural community,” said Peter J. Bracci, town supervisor of Delhi. “We have about 100 firefighters who have been going around the clock. I’m just so happy they have help.”
“It’s hard to fathom how nature can create such devastation,” said Steve Kamvakis, ex-chief of the Dix Hills Fire Department. “Man-made disasters are one thing, but nature has her own fury.”
This story was supplemented with reports by staff writer Hana Alberts on Long Island and from wire services.