Debby's wrath moves into Northeast with flood emergencies

Debby, now a tropical rainstorm, is causing dangerous flooding and tornadoes as it makes its way up the Northeast coastal states after making its second U.S. landfall as a tropical storm early on Thursday near Bulls Bay, South Carolina.

Friday afternoon, flash flood emergencies were issued as heavy rain on in south-central New York and north-central Pennsylvania caused severe flooding with helicopter rescues. Officials received hundreds of calls for help, including several who needed to be rescued by air from dangerous flooding in northern Pennsylvania's Tioga County.

The Cowanesque River at Westfield, Pennslyvania, burst past its record of 11.1 feet in 1996 to rise to 13.5 feet today, according to NOAA.

AccuWeather experts say throughout Debby's path from Florida into the Northeast, the storm has caused nearly $30 billion in damage and economic losses.

On Thursday, eight tornado reports were associated with Debby, from Siler City, North Carolina, through Virginia, to near Wilmington, Delaware. The tornado in Delaware, near Stanton and Marshallton, was rated EF1 by the National Weather Service and traveled for about a mile with 95 mph winds.

Heavy rain continued to stream north on Friday, after Debby dropped more than 20 inches of rain in Florida and 15 inches in North and South Carolina. Amounts of over 11 inches were reported Friday afternoon near Love, Virginia, and Reisterstown, Maryland.

On Wednesday afternoon, the Canoochee River near Claxton, Georgia, a town that received over a foot of rain this week, broke its 100-year record height of 17.80 feet.

Several tornadoes were reported Wednesday and Wednesday night in eastern North Carolina. A twister early Thursday morning in Wilson County killed a 60-year-old man, WRAL reported, and a tree fell on a home in Rockingham County, North Carolina, Thursday evening, killing a 78-year-old woman, bringing the death toll to nine. Seven people in Florida died earlier this week in accidents related to Debby.

NWS investigators found EF2 tornado damage early Thursday morning in Snow Hill, rural Greene County. Tornadoes also damaged homes in Harrells, a town in Sampson County, and a tornado was recorded on video near Maple Hill in Pender County.

Those living in the eastern Carolinas - an area vulnerable to flooding from tropical storms and hurricanes - have been through this before. Debby's flooding is reminding residents of the area's vulnerability to flooding from tropical storms; between 2015 and 2018, three major floods gripped the eastern parts of North and South Carolina.

Florence brought torrential rain to North and South Carolina, particularly affecting the Pee Dee River basin in northeastern South Carolina. The storm caused rivers to swell and overflow, leading to extensive flooding that damaged homes, roads and infrastructure. Both North Carolina's and South Carolina's records for highest rainfall totals from a single tropical storm were established during Florence: 23.63 inches at Loris, South Carolina, and 35.93 inches at Elizabethtown, North Carolina.

Two years before Florence, Hurricane Matthew dropped 1-2 feet of rain from the Georgia coast to southeastern Virginia. Heavy rainfall led to significant river flooding, which impacted communities and caused extensive damage.

Often referred to as a 1,000-year flood, this event was caused by a combination of a stalled low-pressure system and moisture from Hurricane Joaquin. The unprecedented rainfall led to catastrophic flooding across much of the state, particularly in the Midlands and Lowcountry regions. Many areas received more than 20 inches of rain, resulting in dam failures, road closures and widespread property damage.

Although South Carolina was spared the worst of Hurricane Dorian in 2019, the storm still brought heavy rain and caused localized flooding, particularly along the coast, where more than a foot of rain fell.

Hurricane Floyd in 1999 brought record rainfall, causing rivers to overflow in the Carolinas, resulting in catastrophic flooding. The flooding was compounded by Hurricane Dennis's saturation of the ground just weeks earlier.

In 1996, Hurricane Fran's heavy rain caused rivers and streams to overflow their banks, resulting in widespread damage to homes, roads and infrastructure.