6:35pm: According to the Middletown Flood Recovery website, most road in Margaretville are passable, and things seem to be returning to normal:
Road and Street Report — Sept. 7
Margaretville firefighters are once again pumping basements in the Swart Street area. Swart, Academy and lower Main are open to traffic, but the river remains high and additional rainfall could push it onto the roadway. New large potholes have opened up. Middletown Highway Superintendent John Biruk said that while some scouring of new repairs occurred today, most town roads are passable. Road crews will resume armoring road banks Thursday if weather allows.
12:45: Above: Burr Hubbell this photo of flooding in Margaretville today. Fairgrounds behind Freshtown in Margaretville 10:14 this morning.
Noon: This just in from the Middletown Flood Recovery website:
Fire Chief Update
Margaretville Fire Chief Gene Rosa reports that while a mandatory evacuation order has NOT been issued, several people on Swart and Academy Streets in Margaretville have been evacuated at their request. Fair Street, Bridge Street and County Route 38 (Arkville Cut-Off) are closed. Water is creeping closer to pavement on NYS 30 just south of the Cut-Off Road. The AT&T portable cell tower that had been situated near Freshtown has been moved to higher ground. It’s not known when it will be operational again. The Verizon cell tower remains at the MTC parking lot and is in operation.
8:35am: The Middletown Flood Recovery website has been updated with a statement from Middletown Highway Superintendent John Biruk:
Middletown Highway Superintendent John Biruk reports that water is crossing Thompson Hollow in New Kingston, the City Road near Huckleberry Brook across from the Stone School, and Millbrook Road near Ploutz Road in the Town of Hardenburgh. The East Branch is rising rapidly and is likely to cross Fair Street and Bridge Street in Margaretville soon if it has not done so already. Crews are scouting the town to locate trouble spots.
Unnecessary travel is discouraged.
8am: We do not know this from the official Middletown Flood Recovery website, or from the Margaretville Fire Department, because we can't get through there -- the line is busy and is not picking up. But people on the ground in Margaretville, including Karen Archibald, report that they have seen on the ground, heard on scanners, and have heard from the Margaretville FD that low-lying roads in Margaretville are being evacuated.
