By Rich McKay and Brad Brooks
(Reuters) – The remnants of now-weakening Hurricane Debby caused flooding in northern Pennsylvania and southern New York that left scores of people stranded in their homes on Friday, authorities said.
Many people were rescued by boat and helicopters across the region as Debby passed through the area, dumping several inches of rain on land that had been soaked since earlier this week.
“We've done over 30 rescues so far and we're still doing house-to-house searches,” said Bill Goltz, the fire chief in Westfield, Pennsylvania, which has a population of 1,100. “We're evacuating the city. So far, we haven't been killed or injured. But nearby cities have missing people.”
The National Weather Service has issued a tornado warning for the area. Debby produced some killer berries earlier in the week and was expected to continue to do so before the sea breeze on Saturday afternoon.
The governors of Pennsylvania and New York have issued disaster and emergency declarations to free up resources to help areas in northern Pennsylvania and southern New York where flooding has left people stranded and in need of rescue.
The NWS issued flash flood warnings and tornado watches for parts of the area from the Georgia coast to Vermont, as the storm moved northeast at 35 miles (56 km) per hour, much faster than earlier in the week.
Debby, a slow-moving storm for most of the week, dropped about 63 inches of rain as it marched north and killed at least eight people.
Since making landfall as a Category 1 hurricane on Florida's Gulf Coast on Monday, Debby has submerged homes and roads, and forced evacuations and water rescues as it slowly moves up the Eastern Seaboard.
The weather service has reported several tornadoes since Thursday. In Browns Summit, North Carolina, 130 miles northwest of Raleigh, a 78-year-old woman was killed when a tree fell on her mobile home, NBC affiliate WXII reported, citing law enforcement.
Earlier, a twister killed a man when his house collapsed in Wilson County in eastern North Carolina. It destroyed at least ten houses, a church and a school.
North and South Carolina were hit hardest by Debby's heavy rainfall.
In the South Carolina town of Monks Corner, emergency water rescue teams were mobilized Friday as dangerous flooding forced evacuations and highway closures.
Earlier in the week, a tornado hit Monks Corner, about 80 miles north of Charleston, blowing away cars and destroying a fast-food restaurant.
In Barre, Vermont, about 11 miles southeast of the capital Montpelier, Rick Dente spent his mornings protecting plastic roof tiles and sandbags around the doors of his family's store, Dente's Market.
Vermont, which is under a state of emergency, has already dealt with multiple storms from a separate system that washed out roads, destroyed homes and overflowed rivers and streams with floodwaters.
Debby's remnants could bring another 3 inches (7.6 cm) of rain or more, the weather service said.
“We're worried,” Dente said, referring to the store that has been in the family since 1907, and has been in operation since 1972. Once a grocery store, it now caters mainly to tourists looking for antiques and souvenirs.
“Every time it rains, it gets worse,” he said. “I worry every time it rains.”
