yosinski.com / owego

up arrow

Tip: Use j/k to move up and down.

down arrow

Owego

In September, 2011, the town of Owego in southern NY was hit by a huge flood. One weekend a few of us from Cornell drove down to help with the clean up efforts. If my pictures are insufficient, you may be interested in the Cornell Sun article on that weekend or the Cornell Chronicle article about the cleanup the next week.

The flood caused the most damage to basements, which needed to be pumped out. Everything wet needed to be removed, including furniture, drywall, and insulation. Some residents had started this work immediately, but many others needed help to get started or to finish the cleanup. Relief was coordinated by Cynthia Conti-Cook, working out of an empty building downtown. Cynthia and the rest of the gang will probably appreciate any help over the next few weeks. They can be reached via Rebuild Owego.

yos_n17934

gallery image

The relief efforts were run out of this unused store downtown.

yos_n17885

gallery image

Due to the huge volume of debris, people just carted their wet, molding belongings out to piles on the curb for pickup by front loaders and dump trucks.

yos_n17891

gallery image

A mostly empty basement where the water reached to the ceiling.

yos_n17894

gallery image

The waterline in parts of downtown was clearly visible halfway up the trees. In this case, as with many others, the house's first floor had to be stripped as well.

yos_n17899

gallery image

yos_n17907

gallery image

yos_n17918

gallery image

A huge pile of ruined books.

yos_n17924

gallery image

Volunteers from around the community donated clothes, food, dry goods, and cleaning supplies. Many other volunteers sorted clothes and distributed food to those in need.

yos_n17931

gallery image