Ann Farkas walks through her flood-damaged home in Canisteo, New York, Friday, after the remnants of Tropical Storm Debby swept through the area, causing flash flooding in some areas.
Craig Ruttle/AP
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Craig Ruttle/AP
PHILADELPHIA — The weather system formerly known as Hurricane Debby still hasn’t completely devastated parts of the United States on Sunday as flood warnings remained in effect in North Carolina and thousands were without power in New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
After making landfall in Florida as a hurricane on August 5, the storm spent nearly a week unleashing tornadoes and flooding, destroying homes and claiming lives along the East Coast before moving into Canada on Saturday.
While many rivers receded Sunday, flood warnings remained in effect across central and eastern North Carolina, where more thunderstorms are possible over the next few days. With the ground already saturated from Debby, the National Weather Service said localized heavy rains could lead to additional flash flooding across the coastal Carolinas.
Authorities in Lumberton, NC, said in a Facebook post on Saturday One person died after driving into floodwaters on a closed road and being swept away. Officials did not identify the driver, but said what they hoped would be a storm rescue quickly turned into a recovery.
“This bears repeating,” the agency said in the post. “Never drive into flooded roads and obey closed road signs.”
In New Bern, North Carolina, business was brisk at the Halftime Pub and Grub restaurant on Sunday afternoon shortly after the flash flood warning was issued, said waitress Chastity Bettis.
A mobile home swept off its foundation is seen lying about 1,000 feet away from a residence, near a bridge over the Canisteo River, Friday, in Canisteo, New York, after Tropical Storm Debby swept through the area.
Craig Ruttle/AP
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Craig Ruttle/AP
“Right now it’s thundery, drizzly and pretty dark so I think it’s going to start raining pretty hard here soon,” she said. “If you live here, you’re pretty used to hurricane season and this kind of weather, but the last week or two we’ve had some pretty rough conditions.”
In South Carolina, the National Weather Service’s Charleston office warned Sunday that another 3 to 4 inches of rain could fall in the afternoon and evening, which could lead to flash flooding. The office said showers and thunderstorms could develop across Charleston County down to Chatham County and inland.
Even in drier areas, more than 35,000 homes and businesses in Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania and Vermont remained without power as of Sunday afternoon, according to the tracking website PowerOutage.us. About 23,000 outages remained in hard-hit Ohio, where Debby-related storms including tornadoes ripped through the northeastern part of the state on Wednesday.
The final day and night of Hurricane Debby across the United States brought flooding to parts of New York, Pennsylvania and New England with rain and flash floods on Friday, forcing evacuations and rescues.
Stacey Urban, who owns Moss Vanwie Farm in Canisteo, New York, said the floods destroyed about three-quarters of her 1,200-acre farm, including about 400 acres of corn, 200 acres of soybeans and hundreds of acres of hay used to feed cows and other animals.
“This is complete and utter devastation,” she said by phone Sunday as fire officials pumped water out of the home’s flooded basement. “We never thought this would happen.”
Urban said the family has run the farm for about 37 years and has not had a chance to fully assess the damage but said all 150 cows and 200 young cattle were safe and all farm equipment was recovered.
“Whether it works is another matter,” she said. “The water is coming in very quickly.”
Recovery efforts are underway in Steuben County in upstate New York. Officials have announced plans to distribute water bottle and toiletries for residents affected by flash floods on Sunday and Monday. The Red Cross also open shelter for flood victims at Corning-Painted Post High School and is expected to operate until Monday.
The county lies along the Pennsylvania state line, declare a state of emergency on Friday and ordered evacuations of several towns as floodwaters submerged homes, farms and roads. The area has been devastated by flash floods in previous storms, including in 2021.
“Twice in three years, Tuscarora Creek has turned from a peaceful stream into a ferocious beast,” county officials said. wrote in a post on the government’s Facebook page on Sunday afternoon. “It was overwhelming. The sun was still up on Saturday. Volunteers were preparing breakfast. People from all four towns were rolling up their sleeves, taking a deep breath.”
Officials in Tioga County in north-central Pennsylvania said Sunday morning that 10 emergency service volunteer teams will survey residents for damage while responders continue to search for a person missing since the flood.
“Please be kind to them, because they are volunteers… they work here at the 911 center, they are firefighters, they are police officers, they are paramedics, these people are spending their Sunday helping you,” said County Commissioner Marc Rice.
Faith-based disaster relief organizations are also mobilizing to help assess damage and provide assistance, said state Rep. Clint Owlett. “That’s going to be a big deal.”
Meanwhile, the National Hurricane Center is monitoring another potential tropical storm in the Atlantic. Officials say a tropical depression is likely to form in the next day or two and could approach parts of the Greater Antilles by midweek.
