NY National Guard responds to major flooding, wind damage in Mohawk Valley

By Eric DurrNovember 5, 2019

NY National Guard responds to Herkimer storm
1 / 9 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Soldiers assigned to the New York Army National Guard's 3rd Battalion 142nd Aviation remove debris from a road in Herkimer County on Nov. 2, 2019. The battalion deployed a general purpose response force to the county as part of the 200 Soldiers and A... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
New York Guardsmen Respond to November Storm
2 / 9 Show Caption + Hide Caption – (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
New York Guardsmen Respond to November Storm
3 / 9 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Master Sgt. Dave Taylor assigned to the 174th Attack Wing, Syracuse, New York is driving a Kubota Skid Steer that will help push debris away from roadways. This is in response to the New York National Guard activation Gov. Andrew Cuomo initiated on N... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
New York Guardsmen Respond to November Storm
4 / 9 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Staff Sgt. Dave Paronett assigned to the 174th Attack Wing, Syracuse, New York operates a chainsaw to clear fallen tress in Herkimer county. This is in response to the New York National Guard activation Gov. Andrew Cuomo initiated on November 1 for d... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
109th Airlift Wing responds to Herkimer flooding
5 / 9 Show Caption + Hide Caption – STRATTON AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, N.Y-- Members of the 109th Airlift Wing roll out with humvees and debris cleaing equipment in support of the flodding in upstate New York. Over 200 members of the New York National Guard will recieve missions this m... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
109th Airlift Wing responds to Herkimer flooding
6 / 9 Show Caption + Hide Caption – STRATTON AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, N.Y-- Members of the 109th Airlift Wing roll out with humvees and debris cleaing equipment in support of the flodding in upstate New York. Over 200 members of the New York National Guard will recieve missions this m... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Airmen assist in post storm recovery in Herkimer County, N.Y.
7 / 9 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Airmen from the 174th Attack Wing chainsaw fallen trees to help with removal of debris from a blocked road in Herkimer County, N.Y. on Nov. 2, 2019. The Airmen were suppprting Operation November Winds,the New York Natonal Guard mission to provide su... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Airmen assist in post storm recovery in Herkimer County, N.Y.
8 / 9 Show Caption + Hide Caption – New York Air National Guard Airmen from the 17th Attack Wing removes debris from a blocked road in Herkimer County, N.Y. on Nov. 2, 2019. Heavy winds on October 31/ Nov.1 knocked down trees and rains flooded streams. The Airmen were in support of Ope... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
National Guard Airmen assist in Herkimer County storm recovery
9 / 9 Show Caption + Hide Caption – New York Air National Guard Master Sgt. Roger Yurko, the 109th Airlift Wing Emergency Management directs Staff Sgt Kaitlyn Keefe as she
operates a Kabota Skid Steer to rebuild a shoulder on White Creek Road in the the town of Newpor, Herkimer Count... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army)
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HERKIMER, N.Y.--The New York National Guard mobilized 210 Soldiers and Airmen in response to heavy rains and winds that damaged roads and flooded towns in Herkimer County, Halloween night in upstate New York's Mohawk Valley.

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo directed the Guard mobilization after winds of up to 60 miles per hour and heavy rain hit the watershed leading into the Mohawk River.

"We saw rain totals of 3.6 inches in Oneida County, 5.2 inches in Herkimer County, and then 5.6 inches in Hamilton County. This created significant flooding in areas downstream, in Utica, in Rome, in Herkimer, in Dolgeville, and a number of other communities," explained New York State Emergency Operations Director Michael Kopy.

There were 240,000 residences and business without power at the height of the storm.

In Herkimer County one individual was killed when he drove his car into a flooded area, got out, and was swept away by the rising waters. A significant section of the village of Dolgeville was flooded and residents were evacuated from parts of the Town of Frankfort.

The governor directed New York National Guard leaders to send troops and equipment to help local governments cope with the post storm cleanup.

"We're going to deploy 200 National Guard troops who are going to help. Many of these situations are still ongoing. There's going to be a lot of debris to clean up afterwards, many of the homes are going to be uninhabitable. So the National Guard will help with that," the governor told reporters.

On Friday, Nov. 1, Soldiers and Airmen began mobilizing at three air bases and several armories. Teams under the leadership of Col. Robert Charlesworth, the commander of the 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, arrived at the Herkimer County Emergency Operations Center in the Village of Herkimer on Friday morning to be available to immediate missions and access the situation.

New York National Guard leaders mobilized debris clearance teams from the New York Air National Guard's 174th Attack Wing in Syracuse, N.Y. the 109th Airlift Wing in Scotia, N.Y. and the 105th Airlift Wing in Newburg, N.Y. for the mission. The Army National Guard's 204th Engineer Battalion, headquartered in Binghamton, N.Y. was tasked with sending an engineer response team equipped with front end loaders, bulldozers and dump trucks.

General response forces - troops and Humvees, LMTVs, and additional other trucks - who can be tasked with basic debris clearance and traffic control missions-were dispatched from the 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, the 42nd Combat Aviation Brigade, the 53rd Troop Command, the 109th Airlift Wing and the 174th Airlift Wing.

Major General Ray Shields, the Adjutant General of New York, directed the teams to move at 6 a.m. on Nov. 2 and was on site at the marshalling location in Herkimer when the troops arrived.

A 39-Soldier team from the 204th Engineer Battalion was tasked with cleaning up the debris left behind when the East Canada Creek flooded parts of Dolgeville.

The river breeched a berm that the Army Corps of Engineers built to contain the stream in the 1930s, explained 1st Lt. Andrew Campany, the officer-in-charge of the team working on the project.

"From there it pretty much destroyed the foundations of 16 houses and went right through town, sweeping cars away," he said.

Along with punching a hole in the berm, the fast-moving water left rocks throughout the flooded area after the water receded, Campany said. The engineers brought in two bulldozers and other equipment to rebuild the embankment along East Canada Creeks and removed the debris left by the flooding.

Campany, a resident of the nearby town of Holland Patent and the executive officer of the 204th Engineer Battalion's 827th Engineer Company, said he was happy to be able to help his neighbors out by leading the response.

New York National Guard Soldiers and Airmen conducted debris clearance and some road repairs missions in the Town of Frankfort, the Town of Newport, and the Town of Ohio on Nov. 2 and 3.

With the immediate response handled, some general purpose response forces were released on Nov. 3 and 4, while Army and Air National Guard engineering elements remained to handle tasks which required their specialized training and equipment.

Related Links:

Army.mil: National Guard News