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National Guard provides rescue, recovery during floods

July 5, 2006

WASHINGTON (Army News Service, July 5, 2006) – A combined 1,350 National Guardsman from Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey assisted in nearly 1,000 water rescues and tens of thousands of evacuations after widespread flooding from torrential rains swept across the northeast in late June.

Pennsylvania Gov. Edward G. Rendell declared a state of emergency June 27 when 46 of the state’s 67 counties were deemed disaster areas. In New York, Gov. George E. Pataki called the state’s National Guard into action in advance of the threat of severe flooding along the state’s southern tier. And in New Jersey, Guard units assisted in last-minute evacuations along the swollen Delaware River.

Much of the Pennsylvania Guard’s efforts focused on the Wilkes-Barre area where most evacuations took place. In addition to flying missions throughout the commonwealth, Guard members from the 2nd Battalion, 104th Aviation Regiment, and the 628th Division Aviation Support Battalion flew over the border in CH-47 Chinook and UH-1 Huey helicopters to help evacuate Conklin, N.Y., locals who were trapped by Susquehanna River floodwaters, which rose nearly 30 feet.

Meanwhile, Soldiers from the New York National Guard’s 204th Engineer Battalion evacuated Walton residents who had been trapped by historic flood levels.

“Our guys were at their peak for this mission,” said Maj. Carlton Cleveland, commander of the 204th. “Two weeks of annual training in early June gave our equipment operators and planners plenty of preparation so when the call came in, we hit the ground running.”

With water heights not seen at such high levels in more than 100 years, Walton’s Main St. turned into a canal of thick mud and water, rising in some places to five feet. Rushing waters washed out roads and parking lots, moving cars and their garages downstream.

“Everything in my store was floating about the place,” said Anna Nochta, a Walton business owner. “There isn’t much that I’ll be able to save, but I don’t know what I would have done without the help of the engineers.”

As the waters receded, the Guard shifted from emergency response and evacuations to assessing damage. Soldiers have been working with local officials and road construction crews using Humvees and Blackhawk helicopters to move from site to site in an effort to determine how to best restore roads that have stranded some residents from the rest of the town.



(Editor’s note: Compiled from stories written by Spc. Jo Michael of the Pennsylvania National Guard Public Affairs Office and Staff Sgt. Peter Towse of the New York National Guard PAO.)