Debby causes flooding in the tri-state region

Debby finally left the United States on Saturday after the storm spent nearly a week spawning tornadoes and flooding, damaging homes and claiming lives as it made its way along the East Coast after first arriving in Florida as a hurricane.

Debby's final day over the U.S. before moving into Canada inundated south-central New York and north-central Pennsylvania with rain, requiring evacuations and rescues by helicopter. The post-tropical cyclone continued to dump rain across New England and southern Quebec in Canada Friday night, and conditions are expected to improve Saturday morning as the system continues to move northeast.

Some of the worst flash flooding in New York on Friday occurred in villages and hamlets in a predominantly rural area south of the Finger Lakes.

In Steuben County, which borders Pennsylvania, authorities ordered the evacuation of the towns of Jasper, Woodhull and part of Addison, saying people were trapped as floodwaters made several roads impassable. By evening, some of those orders were lifted as the threat of severe flooding had passed. Recovery efforts were already underway Saturday morning, as rescue workers cleared away debris and helped residents pump floodwater out of their basements.

In the hamlet of Woodhull, a stream swollen by rain flooded a bridge. Local resident Stephanie Waters said debris that hit the bridge included pieces of sheds, branches and uprooted trees.

“It was scary to hear the trees hitting the bridge,” she said.

Fire Chief Timothy Martin said all residents of the city are safe, but “every business in Woodhull is damaged.”

John Anderson said he watched as floodwaters rose rapidly, overwhelming some vehicles in Canisteo in Steuben County and nearby Andover in Allegany County.

“It was very violent,” said Anderson, reporting for the Wellsville Sun. He said he saw people's belongings being washed away by the raging waters.

In Canisteo, farm owners Deb and Cliff Moss suffered severe damage to their dairy farm of more than five decades. A neighbor's double trailer drifted from a field into a river during the flood, said their daughter Stacey Urban.

Urban said the catastrophic damage to the community is hard to comprehend.

“They have lost a lot. It is beyond heartbreaking,” Urban said.

Ann Farkas, who also lives in Canisteo, said it was the first time her home, one of the oldest in the county, had flooded since she moved there in 1976.

“The water recedes and what’s left is this really thick mud – it’s like wet concrete,” Farkas said.

“Like many people, I don't have flood insurance, so I doubt my home insurance will cover any of this,” she said.