Devastating flooding in Hudson Valley claims fiancé and daughter

FORT MONTGOMERY, N.Y. (PIX11) – Edward Nugent’s 43-year-old daughter Pamela was caught in flash flood waters and swept away right in front of her childhood home in upstate New York on Sunday.

“She came out here and hit and started going. We were screaming at her, stay there, stay there,” said Nugent.

Pamela and her fiancé, Robert Silverman, had just finished moving their cars to higher ground.

“Pam’s the smartest, most amazing person I’ve ever known,” said Silverman. Edward says after Robert barely reached the street, Pamela was left alone on the porch.

“Then the backyard collapsed. See the backyard? It’s gone. She thought the house was gonna fall in,” said Nugent.

So, she took a chance and tried with the family dog in tow to get to her father and fiancé. “Two steps into the road, she was gone. Yep, just took her. Two seconds she hit it; she was gone. I couldn’t believe what I saw, ya know?”

The dog survived, but Pamela did not.

“Minnie [the dog] slipped first. and then within a second, Pam her legs went out, and she went down a gulley. We looked and went down to the river, calling her name. There was no answer,” said her fiancé, Robert Silverman.

Emergency crews eventually found Pamela’s body down the stream near a wastewater treatment plant. Pamela’s life was lost as what Governor Hochul is calling a 1,000-year event.

Heavy equipment operator Joe Kata has spent hours pushing mountains of filler stone to restore the road.

“We’re talking maybe 750 truckloads. It’s gonna be a task, but we’ll get through it,” said Kata.

Both Robert and Edward said they are aware of the emotional journey ahead; mourning Pamela will be just as arduous.

“Pamela was a really smart, kind person. one of the kindest people I ever met,” said Nugent. Silverman added, “I am barely holding up. I can’t even piece it together fully.”

Pamela’s family and coworkers have set up a GoFundMe page to help with funeral and memorial expenses. You can find that link here.