Hudson River Rises During Storm: Flooding In Homes, The Middle School, And The Wastewater Treatment Plant
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The Hudson River rose into Scenic Hudson’s Long Dock Park, filling the walking paths and encircling trees.
Heavy winds and rain had been blowing all Sunday night, leaving yards flooded and trash cans spilled over. Students got ready for school as the rain continued to pound, but being December, it felt like, should this be a blizzard, there would be no school. That’s when the call came in from Beacon City School District Superintendent Matt Landahl that Rombout Middle School was flooded, and that students who who already arrived would be dismissed early at 9:30am. Anyone else should not come, and all other schools were open.
In email correspondence, he stated: “This morning we had water coming in from the outside in the art hallway and the science hallway. We made much effort to clean up but we could not operate safely today. I want to give a special thanks to our staff who helped us get through today, especially our building maintenance teams, grounds maintenance teams, and our transportation department and drivers who helped us navigate the day.”
The Weather Channel described the east coast storm as intensifying “in the eastern Gulf of Mexico early on Sunday, Dec. 17, then raced along the East Coast into Monday, Dec. 18, with a combination of flooding rain, coastal flooding and high winds from Florida to Maine.” Fox Weather has reported river rising in Boston, and vehicles getting swept away when trying to cross through the water.
In Beacon, the grasslands, kayak dock and parking lot were engulfed by the Hudson River, which rose so high with the tied, its strong currents could be felt over the pavement.
To those not familiar with this parking lot at Scenic Hudson’s Long Dock Park, this picture looks like a rocky beach, but it is the Hudson River washing into the parking lot. This is not the first time. At least as close as September 24, 2023, during Spirit of Beacon Day and coincidentally during the Soon Is Now, an immersive art experience depicting the overflow of the Hudson River, a tropical storm grew in strength and pushed both events to postpone to their rain dates.
The water was rushing in over the MTA Beacon train station. About one foot of water rose around parked cars. The current crested further in toward Pete and Toshi Seeger Riverfront Park where the geese and mallard ducks usually swim. The Welcome To Beacon sign and landing were completely covered by the river. Normally, there are picnic tables positioned for the Number Seven Food truck to serve their steak sandwiches and mozzarella sticks.
The Devil’s Horns, a seed pod of an Oriental aquatic plant that cover this area, were left behind further up the road, as the river tide receded. For those who are captivated by the invasive seed that is hard and hurts feet, you can find stunning jewelry here by this local artist.
Cars drove up to the water’s edge to take photos, risking a chance of dipping a tire into the current that could have swept them out. Water like that may look neat to touch, but the reminder that even shallow water, especially the Hudson River which flows both ways, could sweep away small children or unsuspecting adults.
Fire trucks were buzzing around all day, going into people’s homes to pump water out of flooded basements. During last evening’s City Council Meeting, Beacon’s City Administrator Chris White reported that at least 19 basements were assisted in being pumped out by the City of Beacon. “Thank you to our Fire Department and Waste Water Treatment Department,” he said. “The Treatment Plant was inundated by more an 4" of rain. We avoided significant damage because of how much water was pumped out,” he concluded.
