A powerful storm system brought torrential rainfall to portions of the Capital Region on July 29, 2026, triggering significant flash flooding, washing out roadways, damaging property and keeping emergency crews busy with hundreds of calls for assistance throughout Rensselaer and Columbia counties. Some of the hardest-hit areas were located along and near the Hudson River, including the Town of Schodack, Village of Castleton-on-Hudson, Stuyvesant and Kinderhook. Some locations received as much as 11.79 inches of rain in less than 24 hours, overwhelming waterways and drainage systems and causing conditions to rapidly deteriorate.

During the early morning hours, numerous calls began pouring into the Rensselaer County Emergency Communications Center for flooded basements requiring pump-outs, downed trees and flooded roadways. Within a short period of time, the rainfall intensified and areas that had already begun flooding were quickly overwhelmed by rapidly rising water. The Muitzeskill Road area was among the locations that took a direct hit from the flooding. Water quickly overtook the surrounding area as waterways overflowed their banks, flooding properties, destroying a local barn and becoming powerful enough to carry vehicles away. The force of the water also washed out and destroyed a large portion of a nearby roadway.As the floodwaters continued to rise, one homeowner took immediate action to save several Humvees from being swept away. With water reaching above his chest, the homeowner worked to hook up the vehicles and used another Humvee to pull two of them to safety. Shortly afterward, the entire area became overwhelmed by the floodwaters.

The East Schodack Fire Department was dispatched to East Sagendorf Road for a report of a vehicle that had been swept away in the floodwaters with a person possibly still inside. Firefighters quickly arrived and began setting up a water rescue operation, deploying their boat and establishing a safety line from one side of the roadway to the other. The City of Rensselaer’s drone team was also requested to respond to assist with the search. As firefighters attempted to deploy the boat into the swift-moving water, the powerful current swept the boat out from underneath the crew and carried it downstream into a guardrail. Firefighters were able to quickly get themselves out of the water and continued the operation from a safer location.

With the current making additional water operations extremely dangerous, the drone team was utilized to search the flooded fields and downstream areas for the vehicle. After searching the area, crews determined that the vehicle was not located in the flooded field or downstream. Firefighters were eventually able to make contact with the individual who originally reported the incident as well as the person who had been reported as possibly being swept away. Once everyone was accounted for, multiple emergency units returned to service and the roadway was completely shut down because of the dangerous conditions.

While emergency crews continued handling widespread flooding throughout Rensselaer County, firefighters in Columbia County were dispatched to a reported structure fire on Wilkins Road. Firefighters arrived on scene with heavy smoke showing from the residence and immediately went to work. Crews conducted an aggressive interior attack and knocked down the main body of fire inside the home. Within minutes, firefighters had the incident under control. No injuries were reported.

Throughout the remainder of the day and into the evening, heavily flooded areas remained closed across portions of Rensselaer and Columbia counties while emergency personnel and highway crews worked to assess the damage left behind by the storm. The tremendous amount of rain resulted in hundreds of emergency calls being transmitted throughout both counties during the storm. Fire departments, police agencies, EMS crews, highway departments and emergency management personnel responded to flooded roadways, downed trees, water emergencies, pump-outs and numerous other storm-related incidents. Even after the rainfall ended and the floodwaters began to recede, the work continued. Fire departments remained busy for several days afterward handling basement pump-outs and other emergencies directly related to the tremendous amount of rain that fell across the region.