[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 6 (Thursday, January 23, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S684-S685]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           THE FLOOD OF 1996

 Mr. MOYNIHAN. Mr. President, while people in Washington and 
around the country celebrated the Presidential inauguration this past 
weekend, people in New York State observed the 1-year anniversary of an 
event of a very different kind--one of the worst natural disasters we 
have ever faced. In New York, especially upstate New York, January 19, 
1996, will forever be known as the day the waters came.
  A combination of severe thunderstorms and melting snow led to one of 
the worst floods in our State's history. Forty-one of the State's 62 
counties were declared disaster areas. According to the Federal 
Emergency Management Agency, damages were greater than $100 million. My 
home county, Delaware, was the hardest hit; bridges were washed away, 
homes were ruined, roads were destroyed, fields were inundated, and 
entire villages were left under water. Six of the eleven fatalities 
caused by the flood were in Delaware County.
  Over the past year, the people of New York have tried to rebuild 
their homes and their lives. Our towns, villages, and counties have 
tried to rebuild their roads and municipal facilities. FEMA and the 
State Emergency Management Office, or SEMO, have been there to help, 
but it has not been easy. The flood of January 19 was not the only one 
of the year. It came just 2 weeks after the great blizzard of 1996. 
Then in October, the New York City area was hit by a severe flood, and 
only a month later, large parts of upstate New York were flooded again. 
Although not as severe as the January floods, heavy rains again caused 
damages in several areas of the State, especially Clinton and Essex 
Counties in the northeast corner, and once again, Delaware County was 
hit.
  Ask any local official in upstate New York what they will remember 
most

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about 1996 and invariably he or she will say the floods. We have spent 
the last year trying to recover and rebuild, and I thank FEMA Director 
James Lee Witt and Regional Director Lynn Canton and SEMO Director Ed 
Jacoby for all their help. We have made a lot of progress but, as 
Delaware County Board of Supervisor's Chairman Ray Christensen will 
often tell you, ``We have to realize things will never be the 
same.''

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