Capital Region counties prepare for floods

FORT PLAIN, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- “Beginning tomorrow morning on Thursday at 9:00 a.m. we will be proactively lifting removable dams from the Erie Canal section of the Mohawk River between Lock 8 and Rotterdam and lock 15 in Fort Plain,” said Shane Mahar, Director of Public Engagement NYS Canal Corporation.  He says the proactive approach came after severe damage to the lock system in 2011, which led to the $28 million dollar revamp of the canal system. “To build storage capacity within the river in advance of the tropical storm Debbie approaching New York State. We wanted to make sure that folks had enough heads up about Canal operations because this essentially will close the Erie Canal.”

Fulton County officials say they’re taking the storm threat seriously. “It's shifted a little bit west, yesterday. It seems to create a little more problems for the immediate area. Fulton, Montgomery, Hamilton County, there's a nice little red dot where we're going to hit the jackpot for rain.” Said Fulton County Emergency Services Director, Steven Santa Maria.  “We do flood response as part of a swift water team that made up of Montgomery Fulton and Schoharie counties those guys are busy making sure the equipment ready to go so that we needed.”

Folks at the lock in Fort Plain tell NEWS10 Reporter, James De La Fuente, this is not their first rodeo. “In the last 12 years we've had two, as the people who lived here earlier say, once in a century storms, [we have had] two in a decade.” One man goes on to say the village took steps to keep the flooding from happening, again.  “They cleaned out that Otsquago Creek and they re-engineered it with massive boulders that way tons. So, I don't think that that's going to bring that mud deluge.”

The woman remembers what it was like when the last storm blew through, flooding the area saying, “The whole town was under like three feet of water and her and I walk and her and I walked up to our thighs in one of the streets looking for people who were stuck.”

Fort Plain Mayor, Patrick Hanifin says the village has a new system in place to alert villagers when the floodwaters are about to get too high. “Since the ‘13 flood we do have a flood alarm system where that’s activated from the county when it gets to a certain water level, it’s a series of two different alarms.”

“We live right next door to it. So, I'm thinking about getting some of those noise canceling headphones. Because it's really loud,” said one of the villagers.  Yet, both say they would feel more comfortable having an evacuation route and a location to go to, in case they have to evacuate their home saying, “Places like these little places need an evacuation especially with the weather it's been,” said the man.

“And all the old people that live around here. Myself included, you know?” stated the woman.  

In Canajoharie, leaders there are taking steps ahead of the storm to keep people safe.  They have preemptively closed Wintergreen Park, the Boiling Pot and the Mill Street access to rest of the gorge. the Officials say the area will open as soon as the creek levels are assessed, and it is safe once more.