Local Resident Films Flash Flood in Milford (Video)

On Thursday May 28th, Katie Gengenbach, her son, Kevin, and their dog, Navarre, were enjoying an evening stroll along Chlorinator Road in the Town of Milford, Otsego County. 

Suddenly they heard a sound neither had ever heard before -- and it was coming closer! Frozen with curiosity, Katie later described the noise as a "roaring and crashing" that was moving through the woods directly at them. With the heavy undergrowth it was impossible to tell what it was, but things were moving -- rocks, leaves, branches -- and it was coming ever closer. Kevin noticed the ground was shaking. Navarre was barking furiously.

A small creek, usually the size of drainage ditch, had begun to swell, and was soon gushing water, the drainage pipe under the road unable to handle the volume of water. Turning around, they noticed that a scrubby area behind them had become completely flooded. The sound they'd heard was water, tumbling rocks and branches, crashing through the woods towards them.

It was a flash flood. Katie whipped out her cell phone and called 911, just before the water rose and spilled over the road, completely engulfing a fifty-foot section. Soon, the field on the other side of the road started to fill with water. Then the Milford Fire Department arrived to close off the road and protect unsuspecting drivers. They later rescued a floating beer cooler, which Katie reports they were disappointed to find empty.

The road was impassable for over an hour until the water died down; the next morning the previously flooded area was strewn with rocks and broken branches. But there hadn't been any heavy rain. How could there be a flash flood?

The cause? Beavers. The Milford Fire Department diagnosed the cause of the flooding to be a burst beaver dam further up the hillside.

Thanks to Katie Gengenbach for sharing her story and video footage with us.