Woman Swept Away in New York Flood Identified, Was Found With Dog at Her Side, Friend Says

A New York woman who was swept away as she tried to evacuate a home during intense flooding in the Hudson Valley on Sunday has been identified by a family friend, who said she was found with her father's dog by her side.

Pamela Nugent was killed while trying to flee her father's home in Fort Montgomery, a small hamlet on the Hudson River, according to a GoFundMe online fundraiser launched Tuesday by Ivey Jenkins-Long, who works for Nugent's father.

"The toll this traumatic event has taken on her family, her fiancé, and her friends is unimaginable," Jenkins-Long wrote.

"Pam was an extremely bright, smart, funny, kind and positive person with a generous heart who was ready to do anything she could for you."

Orange County Executive Steven Neuhaus told The Associated Press Nugent, 43, was trying to get through the stormwater with a dog when "she was overwhelmed by tidal wave-type waves.”

Jenkins-Long wrote that "Minnie, the sweet-natured 150 pound Newfoundland who keeps us all company, was found by Pam's side, shaken up but still okay."

The Hudson Valley saw much of the worst of the intense storm, which barreled through the region on Sunday, dropping eight inches of rain overnight, before stampeding into Vermont on Monday.

By Tuesday, crews around Vermont had completed more than 100 water rescues, as some communities remained underwater, including Montpelier, the state capital.

Nugent is so far the only person known to have died as a result of the severe flooding throughout the Northeast.

In the GoFundMe post, Jenkins-Long described the "near-apocalyptic scene" of watching Nugent's neighborhood "washing away" on Sunday.

That day, Nugent was with her father and her fiancé at her childhood home, which sits on a steep hill near a creek, according to Jenkins-Long.

As the rain rolled in, storm surge quickly surrounded the dwelling, and the three of them watched "the backyard, gazebo and two-hundred-year-old retaining wall disappear and leave behind a cavernous hole," Jenkins-Long wrote.

"Then, the street at the front of the house was washed away, the four-inch thick asphalt breaking off in seconds and becoming a cliff only fifty yards from the house," the post reads.

"It looked as though the house was going to collapse next, which is what spurred the evacuation effort to higher ground across the street, which had become a river directly in front of the house."

Neuhaus, the county executive, told the AP flood waters dislodged boulders, which rammed into the home and damaged part of one of its walls.

According to Jenkins-Long, Nugent was involved in the local community and her church, and came from a "tight-knit family."

"She worked hard at her job with an acclaimed engineering firm and most of all, she had big plans for her future where her wedding with Rob was just the beginning," the post says.

Nugent often volunteered her time at her father, Ed's, sustainable construction company, Nugent CM LLC, which is "the Hudson Valley’s premier Passive House builder," as its website states.

Ed Nugent intends to put up a memorial for his daughter in the neighborhood, Jenkins-Long wrote on the GoFundMe campaign page.

"[He] shares everything he knows with incredible generosity," Jenkins-Long wrote. "This is our chance to give back to him and his family in a time when they need it."

As of Tuesday afternoon, the initiative had raised $2,500 out of its stated $30,000 goal.

"I want to help bring the neighborhood back to a place where it can be a beautiful backdrop for her memorial," Jenkins-Long wrote.