The Broome County Jail is hosting some unexpected “guests”.

Several prisoners from the Cortland County Jail were evacuated to jails in surrounding counties, including Broome, after heavy rain caused the roof to leak excessively early January 24.

The Cortland County Sheriff’s Office says by 8 a.m. water covered portions of the floor in some areas of the correctional facility in Cortland.

As the morning progressed and the rain continued to come down, the jail roof continued leaking in several areas in spite of efforts of the Cortland County Buildings and Grounds Department.

Because of safety concerns for the inmates and staff, the decision was made to evacuate a majority of the inmates to temporary housing in jails in three surrounding counties.

According to jail and Sheriff’s Department officials, the evacuation went “extremely well” and there was no danger to inmates at any time.

Authorities say the Cortland County Jail will continue to deal with arrest and confinement business as usual but a very few inmates will be allowed to be housed locally until the damage to the correctional facility is fixed.

Anyone wanting information on where a friend or family member is currently being housed can call (607) 756-4275.

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