Authors: David Sharp, Michael Hill, Max Scoforo and Patrick Whittle
Heavy rains in the aftermath of Debbie battered the Northeast, causing severe flooding, and emergency crews used high water and helicopters to rescue people trapped in cars and homes in rural New York and Pennsylvania.
New York's worst flash flooding yet occurred in villages and hamlets in a largely rural area south of the Finger Lakes, not far from the Pennsylvania border.
In Steuben County, which borders Pennsylvania, officials ordered evacuations in parts of the towns of Jasper, Woodhull and Addison, saying people were stranded because of flooding that left many roads impassable.
In the small village of Woodhull, a creek swollen from the rains flooded a bridge. Area resident Stephanie Waters said parts of sheds, branches and uprooted trees were among the debris that hit the span.
“It was scary to hear the trees hitting the bridge,” she said.
Fire Chief Timothy Martin said everyone in Woodhull was safe, but “every business in Woodhull was damaged.”
John Anderson said he saw floodwaters rising rapidly, swamping some vehicles in Canisteo, Steuben County, and Andover, Allegheny County. “This is not a slow rise. It's very intense,” said Anderson, who provides news for the Wellsville Sun. He said he saw people's belongings being swept away by the strong currents.
In Canisteo, farmers Cliff and Deb Moss suffered extensive damage to their dairy farm, which had been in existence for more than 50 years. Stacey Urban said her neighbor's double-wide trailer floated from the field into the river during the flood.
Urban said the catastrophic damage to the community remains a focus and is difficult to measure.
“They've lost a lot. It's heartbreaking,” Urban said.
Steuben County Manager Jack Wheeler said the storm hit some of the same areas as Tropical Storm Fred three years ago, and six rapid water rescue teams were working to rescue people trapped in vehicles and homes.
Red Cross spokesman Michael Tedesco said about 20 evacuees arrived at a Red Cross shelter set up at a high school. A second shelter was also set up at another high school in Steuben County.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency.
Randy Padfield, director of the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency, said a National Guard helicopter with water rescue capabilities was dispatched to Tioga County as flooding conditions became severe along the state's coast.
Padfield said Tioga officials sought assistance from eight to 10 rescue sites and also conducted multiple boat-based rescues.
In Porter County, which also borders New York, the storm destroyed bridges and caused significant damage to Route 49, Commissioner Bob Rossman said.
“My understanding is that the road has almost disappeared,” Rothman said. “It would be a very expensive replacement. It's one of the main roads in the county.
One firefighter suffered water injuries, but Rothman did not know the extent of the injuries, he said.
According to PowerOutage.us, more than 150,000 customers were without power in New York and Pennsylvania.
The National Hurricane Center said Debbie was downgraded to a tropical depression late Thursday afternoon and a post-tropical cyclone on Friday. It made landfall on Florida's Gulf Coast as a Category 1 hurricane early Monday. Debbie then made its second landfall as a tropical storm in South Carolina early Thursday.
In Vermont, Gov. Phil Scott warned that Debbie's remnants could wreak havoc on the state, including in parts of Vermont that were already inundated and hit twice by flash floods last month. Flooding hit the northeastern part of the state on July 30, washing away bridges, destroying homes and washing out roads in the rural town of Lyndon. Three weeks ago, the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl caused deadly flooding. President Joe Biden approved an emergency declaration for Vermont.
Rick Dente, owner of Dente's Market in Barrie, Vermont, used plastic and sandbags to protect his business as the rain poured down Friday. “There's nothing you can do,” he said.
Jaqi Kincaid, who was hit by flooding in Linden, Vermont, last month, said previous storms destroyed her garage and well, leaving them without water and downing a 120-foot (36-meter) tree. ) tall trees and removed fences. “We do a lot of this,” she told reporters, clasping her hands as if in prayer.
Rainwater flooded parts of downtown Annapolis, Maryland, including the U.S. Naval Academy campus, on Friday. Flash flooding hit the South Carolina town of Moncks Corner, where one of Debbie's early bands sparked a tornado on Tuesday.
The National Weather Service said fast-moving water as high as 3 feet (0.9 meters) surged into the city of Moncks Corner, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) north of Charleston. In surrounding Berkeley County, emergency responders conducted 33 high-water rescues.
There have been eight dam breaches in Georgia, half of them in Bullock County, a rural area northwest of Savannah, Gov. Brian Kemp said. At one point, he said, 140 people were living in the shelter. Some poultry facilities in the state were also flooded, and some cattle died in flooded pastures, officials said.
At least eight people have been linked to Debbie, most of whom died in car crashes or falling trees.
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This story has been updated to correct that Judge Kincaid was hit by the flood once, not twice.
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Sharp and Whittle reported from Portland, Maine. Hill reported from Altamont, New York. Scoforo reported from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Associated Press writers Carolyn Thompson in Buffalo, New York; Lisa Rathke in Barre, Vermont; and Jeffrey Collins in Columbia, South Carolina, contributed to this report.
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