Flashback Friday: Hurricane Agnes

In June of 1972, one of the most destructive storms to ever hit in the upper eastern states ripped through New York and Pennsylvania, today we flashback to Hurricane Agnes.

Agnes, the first hurricane of the new year developed from a category one hurricane in the Caribbean and traveled up the Virginia coastline, becoming a tropical storm as it continued into Pennsylvania and into southern New York, on a course with Corning.

On June 23, 1972 at approximately 5am, a wall of water five feet high came rushing down the Chemung River, causing a tidal wave to hit the city of Corning, New York.

Rain continued for three more days in the Elmira-Corning area and then it stopped.

The worst hit was the Corning Glass factory, with more than half of its museum under water, also destroying its library.

The devastation to the area was the worst flood ever inflicted upon this area in its history, the regions death toll was 23 and the damage left nothing of the downtown area.

Agnes was one of the costliest storms of its time, with over 2 billion dollars in damages and 128 deaths.

I remember the storm and watching the winds kick up here in Binghamton, the anticipations of Agnes and the fear of what it will bring.

Watch some video footage below on what Agnes did to Corning and the surrounding areas.

[www.syracuse.com]