On March 4th, 2004 in the morning, a huge raft of ice broke free on the Chenango River upstream from Chenango Bridge, a small community along the Chenango River in the Greater Binghamton area of New York. Chenango Bridge is located a few miles upstream of where the Chenango River merges with the Susquehanna River in Binghamton NY. The raft of ice jammed up first against a railroad bridge and then, a few 100 yards upstream, the route 12A bridge that crosses the River in Chenango Bridge. The jam was extensive enough to almost completely block the flow of the Chenango River, which in turn, caused water to back up behind the Route 12A bridge and flood an ice skating rink, a golf course, a parking lot and an office building which houses a pub, a senator's office and a financial institution. The National Weather Service in Binghamton issued this Flash Flood Warning to alert residents along the Chenango River of the rapid rises that this and other potential ice jams could cause when the ice eventually broke up and flowed downstream.

Map showing Chenango Bridge, New York. The railroad bridge seen in the
map and the route 12a bridge shown above are where the ice jams
formed. The area enclosed in green is where the flooding took place.

Never drive your vehicle into a flooded roadway. This young man learned the hard way!! Fortunately,
he was rescued unharmed. The Polar Bear Ice Skating Rink, which is the building in the foreground, also sustained flooding from this ice jam.

McGirk's Irish Pub suffered major flooding. This pub just opened and was recently removated. They hope to be open soon as St. Patrick's Day is around the corner!

Picture taken from the Route 12A bridge looking upstream as the ice flows at you. There was little movement of the ice except at the far left where some water was trickling through. This is typical of a serious ice jam as the flow on the Chenango was restricted and therefore backed up behind the bridge and therefore flooding the area noted above.

Picture taken from the route 12A bridge to illustrate the area upstream from the bridge that was affected by the water backing up due to the ice jam restricting the flow of the Chenango River. The water flooded a golf course, pub and ice skating rink as seen above. The water was several feet deep as the top of a fence post disappeared in the waters.

Picture looking downstream from Route 12A bridge which had the main ice jam. The railroad bridge downstream had the first jam. Beyond that bridge, there was little ice. This whole jam eventually broke free by late afternoon allowing the water to recede as quickly as it came up.

For additional information on flood safety and the "Turn Around Don't Drown" flood awareness campaign click on the image below.

Updated 3/8/04 DJN