Heavy thunderstorm creating havoc for emergency services

There's a report of basement flooding at 16 Watson St., Batavia.

City fire has Engine 12 and Ladder 15 responding to a fire alarm at 1 Elizabeth St., Batavia, and a crew is taking Engine 16 to check on Watson.

The city had a brief power outage about 10 minutes ago.

There are no power outages reported in the county at the moment.

Le Roy fire just cleared from a power meter that was arcing.

Bergen fire is on scene of some sort of fire/electrical problem at the Verizon station on Transit Road.

Town of Batavia fire is responding to a fire alarm at the Clarion Hotel on Park Road.

City fire just received a fire alarm at 56 Harvester Ave.

The current storm should pass within the hour.

The National Weather Service has issued a flood advisory in effect until 7:45 p.m. The storm could bring as much as two inches of rain.

UPDATE 5:09 p.m.: Tree and wires down at 56 Harvester. Flooding on Thorpe and Watson. Water leak on the top floor of the Clarion.

UPDATE 5:16 p.m. (from this update forward - Billie): Le Roy Fire Police are called to shut down traffic at 100 W. Main Street at the underpass because of flooding, which is creating hazardous driving conditions. The underpass is flooded between both bridges.

UPDATE 5:22 p.m.: Flooding "up to the floorboards of most vehicles" is reported in the City of Batavia at Main and Liberty streets. Wires are also reported down at 100 Harvester Ave. The power company has been notified about the situation on Harvester and DPW is called to remove the tree. The basement at UMMC is flooded and city fire is responding.

UPDATE 5:32 p.m.: Traffic is going to be shut down on Cedar and Ellicott streets due to flooding. Drivers are advised to park curbside and remain in their vehicles with their four-way lights on until the heavy storm passes. Numerous residences have flooded basements and emergency responders will assist them in the order their calls were placed. A person is reportedly trapped inside a vehicle at a flooded area at 18 Lehigh Ave. in the city. UMMC's basement flooding has "been mitigated."

UPDATE 5:40 p.m.: Fire police are called to shut down Le Roy -- East Bethany Road at Route 5.

UPDATE 5:46 p.m.: The smell of an electrical fire is reported at offices at 12 Center St. in the city. The workers evacuated the space and city firefighters are responding. A bolt of lightening struck an electrical box at Bank Street Road and Saille Drive and it's now on fire. Town of Batavia Fire Department is responding. There is flooding reported at Richmond and Park roads.

UPDATE 5:51 p.m.: A utility pole was struck by lightening at Terry Hills Golf Course on Clinton Street Road in the Town of Batavia and it's on fire. Town firefighters are responding. They cleared the scene at Bank Street Road and Saille Drive. The transformer box was struck by lightening but is no longer on fire. This will be added to the rapidly swelling to-do list for National Grid. The traffic light at the fork in the road at Main and Ellicott is out.

UPDATE 5:56 p.m.: It's all-hands-on-deck time for the Town of Batavia. All available manpower is called to man the stations while crews handle emergency calls.

UPDATE 6 p.m.: The worst of the storm appears to be over and another one isn't on the horizon for about six hours. However, the National Weather Service has issued this warning:

Flash flooding is occurring or is imminent in your area. Immediately go to higher ground if quickly rising water is about to impact your location. If you are in a vehicle, drive away from flooded areas. If on foot, do not attempt to walk through flood waters. Please check back for official updates.

UPDATE 6:04 p.m.: City fire has cleared Center Street.

UPDATE 6:06 p.m.: There's about 18 inches of water at East Avenue and Trumbull Parkway and it "may be a losing battle" to try and clear says a responder. Bethany is back in service. 

UPDATE 7:56 p.m. (by Howard): There are about seven power outages in the county effecting about 200 customers. The largest is just north of Clinton Street Road going into South Byron (92 customers, no ETA for restoration) and along Bank Street Road south of Route 262 (79 customers, with an 8:30 ETA for restoration). The Route 5 underpass in Le Roy is reopened. Firefighters are continuing to work through lists of flooded basements and the occasional attic is added to the list. We've received several photos from readers and will start posting them soon. If you have photos, email them to howard at the batavian dot com. I'll also be posting my own photos this evening.

UPDATE 8:22 p.m. (by Billie): Route 63 is reopened.

UPDATE 8:33 p.m.: Cedar Street is reopened.

UPDATE 9:24 p.m.: Le Roy fire has completed all of its assignments and is back in service.