Storm Debby Causes Devastation Across the East Coast
Storm Debby finally departed the U.S. on Saturday after wreaking havoc for the better part of a week. The storm unleashed tornadoes and flooding, damaging homes and tragically taking lives as it progressed up the East Coast after initially making landfall in Florida as a hurricane.
On Debby’s last day in the U.S. before moving into Canada, it inundated south-central New York and north-central Pennsylvania with heavy rainfall, prompting evacuations and helicopter rescues. The post-tropical cyclone continued to drop rain on New England and southern Quebec, Canada, on Friday night, with conditions expected to improve Saturday morning as the storm moved northeast.
Some of the worst flash flooding in New York on Friday occurred in rural areas south of the Finger Lakes. In Steuben County, officials ordered the evacuation of the towns of Jasper, Woodhull, and part of Addison, as floodwaters rendered multiple roads impassable. By mid-evening Friday, some evacuation orders were lifted as the threat of severe flooding subsided. Recovery efforts commenced Saturday morning, with emergency workers clearing debris and assisting residents in pumping floodwaters from their basements.
In the hamlet of Woodhull, a rain-swollen creek overtopped a bridge. Local resident Stephanie Waters recounted the frightening experience, saying, “Hearing the trees hit the bridge was scary.” Woodhull’s Fire Chief Timothy Martin confirmed that while everyone in the town was safe, “every business in Woodhull is damaged.”
John Anderson, a resident of Canisteo in Steuben County, witnessed the floodwaters rising rapidly, overwhelming vehicles in Canisteo and nearby Andover in Allegany County. “It’s been very fierce,” Anderson reported, as he provided updates to a local news outlet. He observed the floodwaters carrying away residents’ belongings.
In Canisteo, farm owners Deb and Cliff Moss experienced severe damage to their dairy farm, which has been in the family for over five decades. Their daughter, Stacey Urban, recounted a neighbor’s double-wide trailer that was swept away into a nearby river. “The catastrophic damage to the community is hard to fathom,” Urban expressed. “They have lost a lot. Beyond heartbreaking.”
Ann Farkas, a resident of Canisteo, reported that it was the first time her historic home has flooded since she moved there in 1976. “The water’s going down, and what’s left is this really thick — it’s like wet concrete — mud,” Farkas described. “Like a lot of people, I don’t have flood insurance, so I doubt my homeowner’s is going to cover any of this.”
Steuben County Manager Jack Wheeler noted that the storm impacted areas that were hit by Tropical Storm Fred three years prior. He reported that multiple swift water rescue teams were deployed to rescue people trapped in vehicles and homes.
In response to the storm, New York Governor Kathy Hochul and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro declared states of emergency. Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency Director Randy Padfield reported that a National Guard helicopter with aquatic rescue capabilities was dispatched to Tioga County, which borders New York, to assist with severe flooding conditions. Padfield noted that Tioga officials requested help with eight to ten rescue locations, and boat-based rescues were also conducted.
In Potter County, also on the New York border, the storm caused significant damage to bridges and Route 49. Commissioner Bob Rossman stated, “My understanding is the roadway is pretty much well gone. That’ll be a very costly replacement and one of the main thoroughfares in the county.”
Debby was downgraded to a tropical depression late Thursday and was a post-tropical cyclone by Friday, as reported by the National Hurricane Center. The storm initially made landfall on the Gulf Coast of Florida as a Category 1 hurricane, before moving over the Atlantic and making landfall again in South Carolina as a tropical storm.
In Vermont, over 44,000 customers were left without electricity on Friday night. Governor Phil Scott warned that Debby’s remnants could cause severe damage in areas already impacted by flash flooding. A flood watch was lifted by mid-evening, but the northeastern part of the state had already experienced significant flooding that had damaged homes, washed away roads, and destroyed bridges in the rural town of Lyndon. This flooding occurred just three weeks after damage from the remnants of Hurricane Beryl. In response, President Joe Biden approved Vermont’s emergency declaration.
Rick Dente, owner of Dente’s Market in Barre, Vermont, was busy protecting his business with plastic and sandbags as the rain continued to pour down on Friday. “There isn’t a whole lot else you can do,” he stated, as the community braced for the storm’s impact.
