It was an unbelievable sight to see the Susquehanna River overflow her banks after several days of continuous rain. This flooding was the cause of a cold front, the remnants of what once was Tropical Storm Lee and the squeezing of Hurricane Katia off the East Coast, as she passed by. With that mixture, we got, at times, torrential rain fall, that added up all along the Susquehanna River, from upstate New York, on down through Wilkes-Barre, Pennslyvania, and down through Harrisburg. All along the river, flooding occurred in creeks, streams, and so forth. As a result of all this flooding, towns, villages, cities that were along the mighty Susquehanna River, were majorly affected.
In the town on Towanda, Pennsylvania, the flooding was extensive and surreal. I work in this town but I live about twenty to twenty-five minutes away in a small town. This small town is surrounded by many roads and ways in which to get home, but I was unable to do so. So, in effect, my husband and I were cut off from home. On Wednesday, September 7, 2011, we made the decision to close the Library where I work because the rain was getting worse and we kept hearing about how bad it was getting. The powers that be were closing roads and so forth because the rain was pretty bad and flooding extensive in several areas. A co-worker and I headed toward the bridge that separated Towanda from Wysox, but it took us forty-five minutes to get across the bridge. This was due mainly to the fact that the road was closed up ahead, about 3 miles or so, and the emergency responders and volunteer fire and rescue were rerouting people into the Bradford Town Plaza and having them head back to the bridge. We did not know that at the time. All we knew was it was taking forever to get across the bridge when it normally takes about twenty minutes or less, depending on traffic.
By the time we made it to the Bradford Town Plaza, it had taken us about one hour and forty minutes to get across the bridge and to the Plaza where Kmart was. We had seen the rising river as we were crossing and were both amazed by it all. As were crossing the bridge, my husband was calling my co-worker’s cell phone and letting us know what was going on. Apparently they were going to close the bridge, which they never did, they just was rerouting people and making sure they did not go any further along Route 6. What we did not know at the time was that down the road a piece the whole area was under water. The water level had risen so fast that the area could not hold it any longer and had flooded the whole area. We saw pictures later on the social network, Facebook, of the area that had flooded and it was unbelievable. Normal businesses were under at least three to five inches or more of water and was covering the roads and beyond. And the rain continued to fall, heavy at times.
Bradford County was under a state of emergency. My husband was able to get off early also and we were trying to figure out what to do since we were unable to get home. All the ways that we had to get home were rapidly becoming impassable due to the rain and the flooding. All the roads that would lead us home were impossible, so I called my co-worker who had taken me to Kmart to meet up with my husband, and took her up on her offer of a place to stay until we were able to get home. We were lucky to have a place to stay while so many others had to find a shelter due to being evacuated. We were able to watch the news and see what was happening all around us and in other areas of the state that were being affected by this rain and flooding. It was an unbelievable sight to see all the devastation that can be done by the raging river as she floods.
The next morning we all, except my husband, who went to work since they were open, ventured out to see the damage and the flooding, even though the weather forecasters were warning that the rains were not done and to be prepared. We ventured out of town but could not get too far due to barricades and flooding across the road. The fields on either side of the road were flooded to the road and over it. You could not get out of town that way and the other way to get out of town was impossible too. So we headed back into town and parked so we could walk to see the river and where it had flooded. The flooding was pretty bad and we took photos of the river which had pretty much flooded over the Merrill Parkway and was lapping at the buildings, like City Hall, the Courthouse, and so forth in that area. Everyone was afraid that it was going to keep going and flood Main Street, which was about a block or more away. The flooding had already flooded the buildings on the end of Main Street at the bridge. The whole parking lot was flooded and was getting ever so closer to creeping into the building. There were three cars in the parking area, which was now the river, behind the courthouse and they were almost covered in water. Two cars had their windows down too!
It was simply amazing and unbelievable the power that flood waters can have on a community and the surrounding areas. To be in the area and watch this happening is heartbreaking. I have never before seen this much flooding or damage, even when I lived in Florida. I hope that I never again see this happen. Everyone, including the news reporters, is saying this equals Hurricane Agnes in 1972. It may be over that record that Agnes made in 1972. It is hard not to be affected by all this, but I am glad that my husband and I had friends, in the unaffected part of town, to stay with until we are able to go home. I, again, hope that I never see this happen ever again and I pray that we won’t.