Past Disasters

Partial List of Past Disasters

  • June 1905: Flood in Moravia severely damaged business district
  • July 27, 1907 Steamship Frontenac fire south of Union Springs, 8 deaths
  • April 1916: Severe flooding along Cayuga Lake
  • 1918 to 1919: Spanish Influenza, nearly 100 deaths in Cayuga County
  • 1929: Riots at Auburn Prison with 11 deaths, 3 firefighters injured
  • December 1931: Hislops fire in Auburn destroys a block of downtown, 1 firefighter killed
  • July 1935: Floods in Moravia and Locke
  • March 30, 1960: Gasoline leak and explosion kills 5 in Auburn including 3 firefighters
  • September 1960: 17,000 gallon gasoline spill at Drake Oil in Auburn
  • May 1966: 8,500 gallon gasoline spill at Sinclar bulk terminal in Auburn
  • 1960s: Dutch Elm Disease kills thousands of trees in City and Villages
  • June 1972: Tropical Storm Agnes
    • Auburn's Mill Street dam washes out
    • Cayuga Lake rises 1.25 feet higher than 1916 level
    • Owasco Lake dam weakened
  • April 10, 1975: Gasoline tanker crashes in Locke, fire destroys 11 buildings
  • September 1975: Hurricane Eloise causes severe damage in Moravia and Locke
  • September 11, 1977: 10,000 gallon gasoline spill at Agway in Auburn
  • February 1979: Ice Jam in Port Byron evacuates homes and closes schools
  • October 1981: Flooding in Moravia and Locke "worse than Agnes or Eloise"
  • 1980s: Radiation incident at Austeel (dental scrap)
  • March 1993: Blizzard followed by lake and river flooding in April
  • November 1993: Dunn and McCarthy fire in Auburn.
  • January 1994 Ice jam flooding in Port Byron evacuates homes and closes schools
  • January 1996: County-wide flooding with 1 death (MVA), federally declared disaster DR-1095
  • November 1996: Street flooding in Moravia and Locke (Fed. declared disaster in Tompkins)
  • Summer 1998: Tornado(s) in Niles and Moravia (Fed. declared disaster elsewhere)
  • September 1998: Labor Day storm. Federally declared disaster DR-1244
  • August 1999: Genoa issues emergency water restrictions, USDA declared drought (Number 0329)
  • June 2000: Road flooding in King Ferry (Fed. declared disaster elsewhere)
  • May 2002: Road flooding in Union Springs and Meridian
  • February 2003: Landslide along Seneca River near Cross Lake in Town of Cato
  • April 2003: Ice storm, 3 deaths in Cayuga County. Federally declared disaster DR-1467
  • August 23, 2003: North East blackout. Federally declared emergency EM-3186
  • January 2004: Snow emergency declared, EM-3195
  • April 2005: Flooding triggered by snow melt and rain, federally declared disaster DR-1589