The Floodwaters of Debby, a Post-Tropical Cyclone, Reached West Coast Highway 31 in South Carolina
The National Hurricane Center said that Debby was a post-tropical cyclone on Friday. It made landfall early Monday on the Gulf Coast of Florida as a Category 1 hurricane, emerged over the Atlantic Ocean and then hit land a second time early Thursday in South Carolina as a tropical storm.
Several towns were ordered to evacuate as flood waters engulfed homes, farms, and roads in a county located along the Pennsylvania state line. The area has been hit by devastating flash floods in prior storms, including in 2021.
In the hamlet of Woodhull, a rain-swollen creek overtopped a bridge. The area resident said parts of sheds and branches were among the debris that hit the span.
John Anderson said he watched the floodwaters come up quickly, overwhelming some vehicles in Canisteo, in Steuben County, and nearby in Andover, in Allegany County. Anderson was giving dispatches to The Wellsville Sun. He said he watched people’s belongings get carried away by the raging water.
Stacey Urban, whose family owns the Moss Vanwie Farm in Canisteo, New York, said the floodwaters destroyed about three-fourths of the 1,200 acre farm, including about 400 acres of corn, 200 acres of soybeans and hundreds more acres of hay used to feed their cows and other animals.
It was the first time that Farkas’ house in Canisteo had flooded since she moved there in 1976, she said.
Steuben County manager Jack Wheeler said the storm was hitting some of the same areas as Tropical Storm Fred three years earlier and that a half-dozen swift water rescue teams had retrieved people trapped in vehicles and homes.
Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency Director Randy Padfield said a National Guard helicopter with aquatic rescue capability was sent to Tioga County, which borders New York, because of severe flooding conditions in the region. A number of rescue locations and boat-based rescues were conducted.
The State of Debby’s Storms: Power outage and flood damage caused by the remnants of Beryl, a devastating hurricane, in Vermont
Rossman said that the roadway is pretty much gone. “That’ll be a very costly replacement. And one of the main thoroughfares in the county.”
More than 35,000 homes and businesses in Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania and Vermont had no power as of Sunday afternoon according to the Power Outage.us website. Ohio was the epicenter of Debby’s storms, which caused thousands of power outages and spawned tornadoes.
In Vermont, where more than 44,000 customers were without electricity on Friday night, Gov. Phil Scott had warned that Debby’s remnants could cause serious damage, including in already drenched places that were hit by flash flooding twice last month. The flood watch was called off by nightfall. The flooding that slammed the northeastern part of the state on July 30 knocked out bridges and destroyed homes in the rural town of Lyndon. It came three weeks after deadly flooding from the remnants of Hurricane Beryl. President Joe Biden approved Vermont’s declaration.
The owner of Dente’s Market in Vermont worked to protect his business as the rain fell on Friday. He said there wasn’t much else you could do.
Aftermath Power Outages and Flooding Left Millions in the Dark, and Threats of More Flooding, Report: A Northeastern-Caribbean Business Activity Turned Bright Sunday After the Debby Hurricane
While many rivers had receded by Sunday, flood warnings remained in effect across central and eastern North Carolina, where more thunderstorms were possible over the next few days. With the ground already saturated from Debby, the National Weather Service said localized downpours could result in additional flash flooding throughout the coastal Carolinas.
After hitting Florida as a hurricane Aug. 5, the storm spent nearly a week unleashing tornadoes and flooding, damaging homes and taking lives along the East Coast before moving into Canada on Saturday.
According to the authorities in Lumberton, one person died when they got swept away by the flood on a closed road. Officials didn’t identify the driver, but said that what they hoped would be a post-storm rescue, quickly turned into a recovery.
In New Bern, North Carolina, business was brisk at the Halftime Pub and Grub restaurant Sunday afternoon just after a flash flood warning was issued, said server Chastity Bettis.
She said that the rain is going to start raining hard soon, because it is thundering, sprinkling and dark right now. We have been getting it pretty rough, if you live here, you’re used to it, but the last week or two we have been getting it.
In South Carolina, the National Weather Service’s Charleston office warned Sunday that as much as 3 to 4 inches of additional rainfall was possible in the afternoon and evening, and could lead to flash flooding. There could be showers and storms in Chatham County and inland.
Source: Debby left thousands in the dark, and threats of more flooding
The Ruins of the Tuscarora Creek: Power Outages and Flooding Turned into a Ragnarity, and Its Prevention was Worst
“This is complete and total devastation,” she said by phone Sunday as fire department officials were bailing out the home’s flooded basement. “We never thought this would happen.”
Urban said the family, which has operated the farm about 37 years, hasn’t had a chance to take a full accounting of the damage but said all their 150 cows and 200 youngstock are safe and all farm equipment has been recovered.
Recovery efforts were ongoing in upstate New York’s Steuben County. Officials announced plans to distribute water bottles and clean-up kits to residents impacted by flash flooding on Sunday and Monday. The Red Cross also opened a shelter for flood victims at the Corning-Painted Post High School and planned to operate it until Monday.
“Twice in three years the Tuscarora Creek turned from a gentle stream into a raging beast,” county officials wrote in a post on the government’s Facebook page Sunday afternoon. It is just too much. The sun still rose Saturday. Volunteers fixed breakfast. People from all four towns rolled up their sleeves, took a deep breath.”
Source: Debby left thousands in the dark, and threats of more flooding
A Storm in the Atmosphere, and the National Hurricane Center in North-Central Pennsylvania, is Going to Form in the Early Atlantic Sea by the Next Day
Officials in Tioga County in north-central Pennsylvania said Sunday morning that 10 teams of emergency service volunteers would be out surveying residents about damage as responders kept up the search for a person missing since the flooding.
The county commissioner said to be kind to them, because these are volunteers, they work in the dispatch center, they are fire, police, and EMTs, and they are dedicating their Sunday to help you.
A state legislator said disaster relief organizations were mobilizing to help with the assessment of damage. “That’s going to be a big deal.”
The National Hurricane Center has a potential tropical storm in the Atlantic. Officials said a tropical depression is likely to form within the next day or two and could approach portions of the Greater Antilles by the middle of the week.