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Prattsville, NY…Flooded…10/01/10
Special thanks to the National Weather Service and USGS for their excellent work in predicting the volume and duration of this flood.
The village of Prattsville was cut off from surrounding communities for over 6 hours Friday morning, October 1, 2010. Waters from the Schoharie Creek overflowed its banks covering portions of Rt. 23, north and south of the village as well as Greene county rt. 7 that runs north of town on the east side of the Schoharie Reservoir.
At its peak elevation, approximately 17’4.5”, as measured at the USGS gauge station located at the Bridge over the Schoharie Creek just north of Prattsville, the Schoharie Creek was running approximately 40,900 cfs.
A car was stranded in floodwaters south of the village, near the Pratt Rock Park. The driver climbed on top of the car and was, thankfully, rescued by personnel from NYCDEP. These floodwaters receded enough around noon, so traffic could begin to move.
This flood at Prattsville, located 29 miles from the head waters of the Schoharie Creek had the potential for causing a real major flood north of the Gilboa Dam, had the Schoharie Reservoir not been more than half empty. The fast moving nature of the storm, coupled with the attenuating influence of the “Notch”, kept the flood from occurring on the Schoharie Creek, north of the Gilboa Dam.
Pictures of today’s flood, taken 3 hours after the Schoharie Creek at Prattsville crested, are available in the Photo Album ( pg 7-13 ).
Before and After Pictures of the Schoharie Reservoir-October 1, 2010 Flood
Photo 1 Schoharie Reservoir-September 29, 2010 elevation 1,096 feet.
Photo 2 Schoharie Reservoir-October 1, 2010 1:30 pm Elevation approx. 1125' 48 hours after Photo of 9/29/10.
Photo 3 Schoharie Reservoir-October 1, 2010 2:45 pm Elevation approx. 1127' 1hr. 15 min. after 48 hours Photo.
A major storm can fill the Schoharie Reservoir when it is more than half empty. Read; The Flood That Wasn't