Rural Pa. counties are still recovering from Tropical Storm Debby as officials eye ways to mitigate future damage

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Emergency dispatchers in rural Tioga County typically get 75 to 100 calls a day.

But when the remnants of Tropical Storm Debby brought a daylong deluge to parts of Pennsylvania and New York in early August, they fielded more than 500 requests for help and dispatched assistance 311 times in roughly seven hours.

The heavy rain started in the morning, quickly overwhelming local waterways. Floods washed out roads, swept away cars, poured into basements, and knocked houses off their foundations. Most of the calls came from people who couldn’t escape their homes. In some situations, first responders couldn’t reach them. Tioga County reported one fatality.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, proclaimed a disaster emergency for 28 counties after the storm.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has approved more than $12 million in relief funding so far to people in Lycoming, Potter, Tioga, and Union Counties, which were hit hard by heavy rains and floods. The Small Business Administration has also offered loans to others affected by the storm throughout the state.

A FEMA spokesperson told Spotlight PA that applicants most commonly reported furnace damage when requesting funds. The average amount given to those in need was $7,969. Applications for aid from Tioga County totaled 457.

Federal dollars have helped some people get back on their feet in the four months since the storm. However, Tioga County officials are looking for long-term solutions to help prevent — or mitigate — such damage the next time there’s heavy rain.

Flooding is common in rural Tioga County, said 911 Director Lisa Rice. However, it was unusual for the water to concentrate in one spot — in this case, Westfield Borough — and for it to rise so fast, she added.

“It was like a snap of the finger,” Rice told Spotlight PA. “I was out in the field over the course of the next several weeks, and I don’t know how many people told me, ‘I opened the door to get out of the house to leave, and it was a wall of water coming down the street or down the road.’ ”

Rice was stationed in Westfield for about a month after the Aug. 9 storm. She helped with recovery efforts and property assessments, often working lengthy hours and sleeping in a trailer.

“There were people who couldn’t go home, and that was the part that really had a huge impact on me,” she said. “I would get home at the end of the day and think, ‘I can lay my head on my own pillow.’ Many of these people — not only did they not have the big things that they lost — but they don’t even have their own pillow.”

Terry VanDusen, a 71-year-old Tioga County resident, estimated $75,000 in property losses — including a garage apartment, farm animals, and agricultural equipment — during the storm. He successfully applied for federal relief, but he told Spotlight PA that the roughly $6,000 in aid barely made a dent in necessary repairs. A small insurance policy also helped.

“It took us two months to get cleaned up,” he said. “We just kept working and working. We’re back to pretty much normal.”

The Westfield Child Development Center, which didn’t have flood insurance, was surrounded by thigh-high water during the storm.

The day care lost its hot water tank from flooding in the basement, and director Renee Shantz said community volunteers did most of the work to clean up. She didn’t request federal assistance because it was limited to residential properties, and Shantz didn’t want to take out a loan to support repairs.

The parking lot at the facility is still slightly in shambles, she told Spotlight PA.

It would’ve been nice to have some grant dollars for repairs, but the government has its limitations, Shantz added. The day care’s losses were minimal compared to others in the area, she said. All but one employee lost their vehicle. Two staff members had significant flooding in their houses, and another completely lost their home.

The storm didn’t just damage properties. In Tioga County, officials are worried about debris and gravel that streamed into waterways. The three-member Board of Commissioners hopes the federal and state emergency management agencies can help fund cleanup efforts in the Cowanesque River. Without it, they fear the debris will cause severe flooding all over again, which would undercut current recovery efforts.

Spokespeople for the agencies told Spotlight PA that they’re working with Tioga County to assess damage and identify eligible projects. Existing programs could help alleviate some cleanup costs, they said.

“If it doesn’t get cleaned up, we’re in the same boat,” Tioga County Commissioner Marc Rice told Spotlight PA. “We have communities flooded because debris blocked a bridge, and now we’re flooding the locals out again. We want to make sure we do everything to prevent this.”

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