North Carolina Faces Flash Flood Warnings as Hurricane Debby Moves On

PHILADELPHIA — The remnants of Hurricane Debby continued to cause trouble on Sunday, with flood warnings still active in North Carolina, and thousands of people without power in New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.

Debby first hit Florida as a hurricane on August 5, then spent almost a week causing tornadoes and floods along the East Coast, damaging homes and claiming lives, before moving into Canada on Saturday.

By Sunday, many rivers had gone down, but central and eastern North Carolina still had flood warnings. More thunderstorms were expected, and with the ground already soaked from Debby, the National Weather Service warned that heavy rain could lead to more flash floods in the coastal Carolinas.

In Lumberton, North Carolina, authorities reported that one person died after driving into floodwaters on a closed road and being swept away. The victim wasn’t identified, and what started as a rescue turned into a recovery.

The authorities urged people not to drive into flooded roads and to obey road closure signs.

In New Bern, North Carolina, the Halftime Pub and Grub restaurant stayed busy Sunday afternoon, even after a flash flood warning was issued. Server Chastity Bettis noted that it was already thundering and sprinkling, and expected heavy rain soon. She mentioned that locals are used to hurricane season, but the last week or two had been particularly rough.

In South Carolina, the National Weather Service warned that 3 to 4 inches of rain could fall Sunday afternoon and evening, potentially causing flash floods. The showers and thunderstorms were expected to affect areas from Charleston County down to Chatham County and inland.

Even in areas that were drier, over 35,000 homes and businesses in Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania, and Vermont were still without power as of Sunday afternoon, according to PowerOutage.us. Ohio had around 23,000 outages after Debby-related storms, including tornadoes, hit the northeastern part of the state on Wednesday.

Debby’s final day in the U.S. brought heavy rain and flash flooding to parts of New York, Pennsylvania, and New England on Friday, leading to evacuations and rescues.

In Canisteo, New York, Stacey Urban said that floodwaters destroyed about three-fourths of her family’s 1,200-acre Moss Vanwie Farm, including 400 acres of corn, 200 acres of soybeans, and hundreds of acres of hay. Despite the devastation, all of their 150 cows and 200 young animals were safe, though it was unclear if all the farm equipment would still work.

Recovery efforts continued in upstate New York’s Steuben County, where officials planned to distribute water and cleanup kits to residents affected by flash flooding on Sunday and Monday. The Red Cross also opened a shelter at Corning-Painted Post High School, which was set to remain open until Monday.

The county, located along the Pennsylvania state line, declared a state of emergency on Friday and ordered evacuations in several towns as floodwaters overwhelmed homes, farms, and roads. The area has a history of severe flash floods, including in 2021.

Twice in three years, Tuscarora Creek has turned from a gentle stream into a raging beast, county officials wrote on Facebook. It’s just too much. But the sun still rose on Saturday, volunteers made breakfast, and people from all four towns rolled up their sleeves and got to work.