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I. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
(Derived chiefly from interviews with the Editor, City Editor, and the
Publisher of the Port Jervis Union Gazette.
A. Population
Port Jervis has a population of approximately 9, 000 persons.
The population is predominantly lower -middle and middle socio -
economic class. Most residents are white Protestants. There are
three saleable minority groups: Italian, Jewish, en c} Negro.
B. Industry
.
The major source of income for Port Jervis is the tourist
trade. There are numerous summer resort camps in the vicinity.
There are only a few manufacturing plants in the town: a silver plant,
a textile mill, and a few smaller industries. A large number of
employees of the Erie Railroad live here.
C. Geography
Port Jervis is located in the so-called Tri-State area, where
the boundaries of Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York intersect.
Four dams are in the area. Wallenpaupack Dam is a tremendous dam
located at Hawley, Pennsylvania, about thirty-five miles from Port
Jervis. The water distance from the town as computed by Army engi-
neers approximates 44-3/4 miles. There are reservoirs in the area
and a brook in the northern portion of the town. The Delaware River
runs along Me southern boundary. The Neversink River runs along
the eastern border and at one point separates a small section of the
city from the rest. (See map of Port Serves, N. Y. - page 4)
D. Previous Floods
.
From time to time the area has been flooded or threatened
with flood. In 1901, a flood occurred which was characterized by in-
habitants as serious. In 1903, the Delaware River overflowed, and
there was water in the main street. In 1904 there was another inundation.
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In 1922, the reservoir dam above the city appeared to be about to
burst so that splashboards were pulled and certain areas of the town
were washed out. In 193~3, water deluged one section of the town. In
1942, a flood broke at nearby Seller~rille and bodies which washed
down from Hawley were picked up in fort Jervis. Almost annually
the r e i s s om e po s s ibility of flo od damag e .
E. The Flood of August 19, 1955
On Wednesday night, August 17, and Thursday morning,
August 18, Hurricane Diane hit the Tri-State area. There were heavy
rains throughout the county, and the ground was saturated so that there
was considerable run-off. There were showers cluring the day on
Thursday, and by 10:30 p. m. the river was so high that the sirens
were blown and the entire Fire Department was alerted and called out.
At 2:05 a. m., Friday, the Mayor declared a state of emergency and
turned the city over to City Defense. By 3:30 a. m. the underpass
leading to an area known as "The Acre, " which lies between Me rail-
road and the Delaware River, was blocked off. This underpass is also
an exit from the city to Matamoras. The river continued to rise from
its normal crest of three feet until 6:00 a. m. when it reached a crest
of twenty-three feet, eleven inches, which it held for one hour. There
was further flooding in the area covering the railroad tracks. In
many places the water rose to five or six feet, and there were fourteen
inches of water in the main street at one time.
In some cases people in the inundate] regions were carried
out of their homes by Fire Department volunteers. Others packed
their belongings in cars and moved out as the water began to reach
into their yards. The river began to recede after one hour, at the
rate of six to eight inches per hour. When Governor Harriman visited
the town late Saturday afternoon, he declared a state of emergency and
called in the Mutual Aid Society. As a result, a large assortment of
fir e -trucks, pumper s and other vehicle s began to move toward Port
Jervis on Saturday evening to assist in the cleanup.
The Fire Department radio was on for ninety-six continuous
hours with three operators. Total Fire Department personnel and
equipment in operation in Port Jervis during the emergency period
consisted of 1, 000 firemen, thirty-four engine companies, a ladcler
c ompany, two ~ e s cue vehicle s, two ambulance s and sixty-five portable
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pumps. Seventy-three piece s of equiprr~ent and numerous car s came
in under the Mutual Ail} program from seven nearby countie s. Two
Army dukws and three helicopters also were in the area.
Port Jervis had an active Civil Defense organization and had
sometime previously been named as an evacuation point for residents
of New York City in the event of an air raid. Civil Defense was active
during the flood and the clean-up. The Fire Department (which con-
sisted solely of a Chief and two Assistant Chiefs on a part-time basis)
and Police Department were augmented during this period by regular
auxiliaries and volunteers, as well as by emergency volunteers.
1. The Union Gazette flood report: The Friday edition of the
Union Gazette carried this lead story:
"August 19, 1955--Hurricane Diane splashed its turbulent
waters on the Tri-States area during the past twenty-four
hours and Mayor James E. Cole In the dark days of the early
morning at 2:05 turned the City over to Civil Defense Author-
ities by declaring the City of Port Pelvis in a state of emer-
gency.
"Rushing waters inundated all the surrounding areas of the
city causing mass evacuation of the entire First Ward beyond
the railroad tracks, the Tri-States area in the Fourth Ward
and all lowlands throughout the city.
''Streams which just a few short hours before had been barren,
overflowed their banks, isolating Port Jervis from all local
arteries leading into the city. All fire companies of the city
were alerted early in the evening to perform lihe major portion
of re s cue work.
"Concrete bridges were ripped up on every highway causing
huge amounts of damage, while Route 6 was smashed by three
landslides toward the Lookout, while 6 was taking a terrific
beating by swirling waters thundering off the mountain at
Milford.
"Communications of the Tri-States Associated Telephone
Company were severed into Pike County and also to the west
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of Port Ferris and an estimation of the extent of the damage
to the lines was impossible yet today. Erie Railroad lines
were crippled with the washouts west of Port Jervis. "
The Saturday, August 20, issue of the Union Gazette recorcled
that the Mayor had estimated! damage of over a million dollars from
the flood which had isolated the city on Friday:
". . . The Delaware River reached a crest at 23 feet, 11 inches
at 6 a. m. yesterday following 24 hours of rain in which more
than 7 inches were recorded in the city. Heavy rains pre-
vailed in all of the area surrounding Port Jervis...A river
observer reported that after reaching the near-record level,
it held for about an hour before starting to recede. By 6
o'clock last night when he last checked the river gauge, the
level had dropped to 17. 8 feet. He stated that the reduction
had been gradual, about 6 to 8 inches an hour. . .As the flood
waters began to recede they left behind a mass of mud which
covered stre ets, homes, furniture within the home s, and
ruined gardens and lawns. The last of the waters were not
gone yet this morning, but nevertheless, the cleanup started
anal continued unabated. "
2. The official Fire Department report, made by the Fire
Chief of Port Jervis, reads in part as follows:
" Fir st call 8: 30 p. m. Thur s day, August 1 9, to pump out cel-
far, 28 Coleman Ste Run-off brook overflowing. 9:45 p. m.
Chief called. All companies alerted. 11:15 - ladders to
evacuate number three zone. 11:55 - Evacuation. Seven-
hundred people evacuated from the West End, River Sicle, Tri-
States and Fourth Ward on Friday. "
3. The official Police report reads in part as follows:
"Emergency period 2:35 a. m. August 19 to 5 p. m. August 29.
At 2:35 a. m., August 19, a state of emergency was declared.
At this point entry to and exit from the city on Routes 6 and
206, 42, and 97 near Sparrowbush were blocked. Water
covered the River Roacl.
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t'In addition to the regular Police, there were 20 auxiliary
Police. The National Guard (40 in number) which had been
available left at 7 a. m. on Saturday. At 8 p. m. on Saturday,
6 auxiliary Police patrolled on Ri firer side s action till claylight.
The regular Police were on duty in the Fourth Ward, ant} in
the Tri-States there were 3-man details of auxiliaries on foot
from ~ p. m. until daylight. "
F. The False Report
There is good reason to believe that residents were sensitized
to any reports concerning the river, floods, dam, epidemics, and so
forth. On Friday and Saturday a number of rumors circulated to a
limited extent concerning the Wallenpaupack Dam, Me re servoir s
above the city, and the possibility of a typhoid epidemic. Official
checks were made with the Dam which may account for the fact that
these rumors gained little, if any, momentum. Many people had been
evacuated from their homes, and were only beginning to return to
them. Hundreds were working around! the clock pumping out cellars,
removing debris, helping evacuees, arid taking other actions designed
to re star e the ci ty to normal condition.
The As sociated Pre s s wire carried a story at 2: 30 a. m. Fri-
day to the effect that at Hawley people saw water coming over the Dam,
and that there was fear that the Dam had broken. This report was not
published, but the word spread. At 6:30 a. m., the AP denied the story.
The Publisher of the Union Gazette stated that this rumor had c~rcu-
lated before, but that no action had followed. There had also been a
rumor that the drinking water carried typhoid fever. This story was
stoppe c! without great excitement.
The Monday, August 22, edition of the Union Gazette described
the visit of Governor Harriman to the city, and also carried a descrip-
tion of a "false message" which caused an exodus on Saturday night:
"Added to the confusion of the flood and mess it left behind
was the near panic which gripped the city on Saturday night
and early Sunday morning when a false rumor, Me source of
which was unknown, spread like wildfire. The rumor had the
Wallenpaupack Dam bursting, ant} throwing a massive volume
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of water into the narrow valley above :Lackawaxan, thence into
the Delaware River, and on down upon already stricken Port
Jervis .
" The rumor, whi ch had spr e ad like wildfir e throughout the
city, in both high and low sections, caused our citizens to
begin fleeing the city. Before (the report) could be halted,
most of the city was on the move. People dressed in only
night clothing rushed from their homes and to their cars,
some taking a suitcase of belongings along. Others fled with
just the clothing they had on. The cars moved into Elks Brox
Park and up Route 6 to get to the highest possible ground.
"The city Fire Department, with loudspeakers blaring, went
about the city attempting to calm the populace and telling them
the report was untrue and to return to their homes. Ralph
Frederick of the Union Gazette staff, and a representative of
Station WD:UC, put that station on the air after midnight and
repeated the story that the rumor was untrue for countless
minutes on the air. Gradually the truth began to dawn on
those who had fled. They returned to the city, but not until
after they had cr eated one of the gr eate st near dis aster s in the
history of the city. The actions of some could have resulted
in a worse catastrophe than the flood itself.
"By morning, however, the scare had passed and people were
back to normal. "
10
Representative terms from entire chapter:
fire department
