Debby triggers flash floods in Pennsylvania, New York

By Rich McKay and Brad Brooks

(Reuters) -The remnants of storm Debby triggered flash flooding in northern Pennsylvania and southern New York state that left dozens of people stranded in their homes on Friday, authorities said.

Several people were rescued by boat and by helicopters across the region as Debby sped through the area, dumping several inches of rain on land that was already soaked from earlier this week.

“We’ve carried out upward of 30 rescues so far and we’re continuing to search house to house,” said Bill Goltz, the fire chief in Westfield, Pennsylvania, which has a population of 1,100. “We’re evacuating the town. So far, we’ve had no deaths or injuries. But nearby towns have missing people.”

The National Weather Service issued tornado warnings for the area. Debby, downgraded from a tropical storm to a depression on Thursday, spawned deadly twisters earlier in the week and was expected to continue doing so before it blows out to sea Saturday afternoon.

The governors of Pennsylvania and New York issued disaster and emergency declarations to free up resources to assist the areas of northern Pennsylvania and southern New York where flash floods left people stranded and in need of rescue.

The NWS issued flood warnings and tornado watches for parts of an area stretching from coastal Georgia to Vermont, as the storm moved northeast at 35 miles (56 km) an hour, considerably faster than earlier in the week.

Debby, a slow-moving storm for most of the week, has dropped as much as 25 inches (63 cm) of rain on its march north and killed at least eight people.

Since making its first landfall as a Category 1 hurricane on Florida’s Gulf Coast on Monday, Debby has submerged homes and roadways, and forced evacuations and water rescues as it slowly crawled up the Eastern Seaboard.

The weather service fielded reports of a handful of tornadoes since Thursday. In Browns Summit, North Carolina, about 80 miles (130 km) 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 damaged at least 10 houses, a church and a school.

North and South Carolina have been hit hardest by Debby’s prodigious rainfall.

In the South Carolina town of Moncks Corner, swift-water rescue teams were mobilized on Friday as dangerous flash flooding forced evacuations and the closure of an interstate highway.

Earlier in the week, a tornado buzzed through Moncks Corner, about 50 miles (80 km) north of Charleston, flipping cars and wrecking a fast-food restaurant.

In Barre, Vermont, about 7 miles (11 km) southeast of the capital Montpelier, Rick Dente spent his morning securing plastic tarps over the roof and surrounding the doors with sandbags at his family-owned store, Dente’s Market.

Vermont, which is under a state of federal emergency, has already faced a slew of rainstorms from a separate system that has washed out roads, damaged homes and swollen rivers and creeks with floodwaters.

The remnants of Debby could bring another 3 inches (7.6 cm)or more rain, the weather service said.

“We’re worried,” said Dente, thinking about the store that has been in the family since 1907, and he has run since 1972. Once a grocery store, it now caters mostly to tourists seeking antiques and keepsakes.

“Everytime it rains, it’s worse,” he said. “I worry every time it rains.”