Residents and officials across northeast and north-central Pennsylvania assessed damage Monday as the long road to full recovery from Hurricane Debby began in earnest.
The state Department of Transportation said roads in Susquehanna, Wayne, Lycoming and Tioga counties remained closed and may remain that way for the foreseeable future because of damage.
In Lycoming County, the village of Trout Run in Lewis Twp. took the brunt of Debby-induced flash flooding Friday as the midtown run its named for overflowed to the surprise of many.
“In 60, 70 years, it's never overflowed,” resident Laura Ferringer said. “Nobody was really watching it and suddenly as it started to come up. They (rescuers) started to come down, evacuated us, and we had to flee on foot up to our neighbor's house who graciously took in a few of us, including our dog.”
Heavy rains produced mountain runoff that blanketed roads. Trout Run Volunteer Fire Company member Bob Whitford said the stream overflowed about 45 minutes later.
“I know from the emergency service part of it, we've had numerous floods - ‘72, ‘84, ‘96, 2011 - but all those floods have been Lycoming Creek,” Whitford said.
The Ferringers’ neighbor across the street was one of the hardest hit. Her Liberty Street home was at ground zero along the run. The homeowner declined to comment to WVIA Monday.
A large sinkhole behind the residence. Flooding swallowed two of the owner’s sheds. The home’s rear portion now hovers over the stream where the ground was washed away.
The Ferringers' basement took on about 5 feet of water, damaging the furnace but she said the damage was minimal compared to her neighbor.
“Most of our neighbors only had water in their basement, so the biggest concern for most of us is our water heaters, water pumps, things like that,” Laura Ferringer said. “We're pretty lucky in that sense, that it didn't reach our first floor. And of course, our neighbor across the street, she lost the foundation out of the back of her house. So as of right now, they're not sure if it's going to continue to be livable or not.”
Trout Run flows into Lycoming Creek, the cause of most past flooding. The town became prepared after several major floods since Hurricane Agnes in 1972.
Six people died in the 1996 flood. Residents were air evacuated then, Whitford said.
“We lost six lives and we air evacuated. I can't tell you how many people were trapped. We've prepared for that type of flooding on the Lycoming Creek stream but never thought that this stream would do this,” Whitford said.
Many residents lack flood insurance. Most homeowners insurance does not cover flooding.
“The unfortunate thing is, there's a lot of elderly people that live right here in this community and their houses have been paid off for a long time. Because this never overflowed, a lot of them weren't in the flood plain. They didn't carry flood insurance and their houses were paid off,” said Craig Ferringer, Laura Ferringer’s husband.
“When you're working or living on Social Security and trying to live within your means, and suddenly you have to fork out money for a new water heater, a new well pump, new septic system, whatever it is, it’s going to be hard on those folks,” he said.
The flooding didn’t devastate only homes. Trout Run Volunteer Fire Company suffered condemnation-level damage.
“The larger portion of the fire company is currently condemned until we can get further structural assessment done to it,” Whitford said. “It's a building, it's a fire station. These are lives. You put the priority into the lives, and you get that taken care of, and then you worry about your own building afterwards. And that's exactly what these guys (emergency responders) did.”
Residents were evacuated to Hepburn Volunteer Fire Company in Hepburnsville. Whitford, who was his fire company’s chief for 20 years, said shared his pride in the local responders who put lives before their station.
“I can't say that I'm any more proud than knowing that those guys did what they needed to do. They didn't focus on us losing our building, they focused on the lives and the needs of the people that live in this community,” Whitford said.
Ryan Duel, 36, recounted the flooding at his home.
“It was ripping through pretty hard. We're far enough away from the creek that it wasn't too bad,” Duel said. “It just filled up… We got relatively lucky with only water in the basement.”
He was awed by the way the community came together afterward.
“That was definitely awesome. I’ve lived here my whole life, it’s not surprising it happened but it’s good to see everyone has come together,” he said.
A Christian summer camp located near Trout Run, Camp Susque, started a fundraiser for the Trout Run fire company. So far, they’ve raised more than $29,000 to rebuild the fire station. The camp has also offered bathrooms and places to shower.
Flooding also damaged Lewis Township’s municipal building. The damage was not severe, but office staff worked temporarily out of offices supplied by local natural gas companies, including EQT, Stallion, Halliburton and Seneca Resources. The companies also offered meals and water for residents in need, Whitford said.
“There's water if people need water there and they're cooking meals for anybody in the area that wants something to eat, so they don't have to worry about cooking at home while they're doing their cleaning,” he said.
The storm left a trail across a wide swath of Pennsylvania, causing Gov. Josh Shapiro on Saturday to issue a disaster declaration covering Adams, Bedford, Berks, Bradford, Carbon, Chester, Cumberland, Dauphin, Fulton, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Lycoming, Monroe, Pike, Potter, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Tioga, Union, Wayne and Wyoming counties
Shapiro allocated $7 million to kick-start the recovery effort.
“My administration is in regular contact with federal and local leaders and is working hand in hand with our emergency management partners to understand where help is needed and to get appropriate resources there as quickly as possible," Shapiro said in a statement released during the weekend.
In 48 hours between Thursday and Saturday mornings, the storm dumped between 1 and 4 inches of rain on parts of the region, according to reports compiled by the National Weather Service.
Among the high points: 4.30 inches near Pleasant Mount, Wayne County; 3.85 inches in Hazleton, Luzerne County; and 3.24 inches in Thornhurst, Lackawanna County. The most damaging flooding occurred in the mountains along the Cowanesque River, in Westfield, Tioga County, NWS said, where the river crested at 13.52 feet, surpassing the 1996 record crest of 11.1 feet.
In addition to flooding, the storm was accompanied by a tornado with 105 mph winds that touched down in Harrisburg on Friday afternoon. It was just the second twister to touch down in the city limits since 1950, NWS said.
In Lycoming County, PennDOT said the following roads face long-term closure:
- Route 14 between the ramp to Route 15 to Trout Run Mountain Road in Lewis Township. A detour using Trout Run Mountain Road, Lycoming Creek Road and Beautys Run Road will be in place.
- Little Pine Creek Road between Route 287 in English Center, Pine Township, and Little Pine State Park in Cummings Township. The detour is along route 287, 973 and 44.
In Tioga County, these roads face long-term closure:
- Canada Road between Cherry Flats Road in Covington Township and West Hill Road in Putnam Township. The detour is along Old State Road and Williamson Road.
- Wattles Run Road Potter/Brook Road at the bridge in Clymer Township. The detour is via routes 49 and 349.
- North Road between Route 249 and California Road in Brookfield Township. This is the detour Route 249, Austinburg Road and Route 49.
