Flooding from the remnants of Debby leads to high water rescues in New York, Pennsylvania

First responders launched high-water and helicopter rescues of people trapped in cars and homes in rural New York and Pennsylvania as heavy rain from the remnants of Debby slammed the Northeast with intense floods.

The worst of the flash flooding so far in New York was occurring in villages and hamlets in a largely rural area south of the Finger Lakes, not far from the Pennsylvania border.

In Steuben County, which borders Pennsylvania, officials ordered the evacuation of the towns of Jasper, Woodhull and part of Addison, and said people were trapped as floodwaters made multiple roads impassable. By mid-evening, some of those orders were being lifted as threat of severe flooding passed.

In the hamlet of Woodhull, a rain-swollen creek ran so ferociously that the water overtopped a bridge. Area resident Stephanie Waters said parts of sheds, branches and uprooted trees were among the debris that slammed into the span.

“Hearing the trees hit the bridge was scary,” she said.

Fire Chief Timothy Martin said everybody was safe in the town, but “every business in Woodhull is damaged.”

John Anderson said he watched the floodwaters come up quickly, overwhelming some vehicles in Canisteo, in Steuben County, and nearby in Andover, in Allegany County. “It’s not a slow rise. It’s been very fierce,” said Anderson, who was providing dispatches to The Wellsville Sun. He said he watched people’s belongings get carried away by the raging water.

In Canisteo, farm owners Cliff and Deb Moss suffered heavy damage to their dairy farm, which has been there for more than five decades. A neighbor’s double-wide trailer floated down a field to a river during the flooding, said their daughter, Stacey Urban.

Urban said the catastrophic damage to the community was still coming into focus and was hard to fathom.

“They have lost a lot. 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, has flooded since she moved there in 1976. She now has to shovel out layers of thick and heavy silt that were left behind.

“The water’s going down, and so what's left is this really thick — it's like wet concrete — mud,” Farkas said. Her plans are to clean out a garage so furniture can be moved there before the baseboards, floorboards and possibly the subflooring on the first floor can be ripped up.

“Like a lot of people, I don’t have flood insurance, so I doubt my homeowner’s is going to cover any of this," she said.

Steuben County manager Jack Wheeler said the storm was hitting some of the same areas as Tropical Storm Fred three years earlier and that a half-dozen swift water rescue teams were retrieving people trapped in vehicles and homes.

About 20 evacuees arrived at a shelter set up at a high school, Red Cross spokesperson Michael Tedesco said. A second shelter was also being set up at another high school in Steuben County.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro declared states of emergency.

Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency Director Randy Padfield said a National Guard helicopter with aquatic rescue capability was sent to Tioga County because flooding conditions had become severe in the region, which runs along the New York state line.

Padfield said Tioga officials have asked for help with eight to 10 rescue locations, and multiple boat-based rescues were also being conducted.

In Potter County, also on the border with New York, the storm took out bridges and did severe damage to Route 49, Commissioner Bob Rossman said.

“My understanding is the roadway is pretty much well gone,” Rossman said. “That’ll be a very costly replacement. And one of the main thoroughfares in the county.”

He said one firefighter suffered water-related injuries, but Rossman did not know the extent.

More than 150,000 customers were without power across New York and Pennsylvania, according to PowerOutage.us.

Debby was downgraded to a tropical depression late Thursday afternoon and was a post-tropical cyclone on Friday, the National Hurricane Center said. It made landfall early Monday on the Gulf Coast of Florida as a Category 1 hurricane, emerged over the Atlantic Ocean and then hit land a second time early Thursday in South Carolina as a tropical storm.

In Vermont, where thousands were without power, Gov. Phil Scott warned that Debby's remnants could cause serious damage, including in already drenched places that were hit by flash flooding twice last month. Flooding that slammed the northeastern part of the state on July 30 knocked out bridges, destroyed and damaged homes, and washed away roads in the rural town of Lyndon. It came three weeks after deadly flooding from the remnants of Hurricane Beryl. President Joe Biden approved Vermont’s emergency declaration.

Rick Dente, who owns Dente’s Market in Barre, Vermont, worked to protect his business with plastic and sandbags as the rain poured down on Friday. “There isn’t a whole lot else you can do,” he said.

Jaqi Kincaid, hit by flooding last month in Lyndon, Vermont, said the previous storm knocked out her garage and well, so they have no water. It also felled a 120-foot (36-meter) tree and took down fencing.

“We’re doing a lot of this,” Kincaid said, holding her hands together as if in prayer.

Stormwater swamped parts of downtown Annapolis, Maryland, including at the U.S. Naval Academy on Friday. And flash flooding hit the South Carolina town of Moncks Corner, where one of Debby’s early bands unleashed a tornado on Tuesday. Across the surrounding Berkeley County, emergency crews made 33 high-water rescues.

There were eight dam breaches in Georgia, half of them in rural Bulloch County northwest of Savannah, Gov. Brian Kemp said. At one point, 140 people were in shelters, he said. Some poultry facilities flooded, and some cattle were lost in flooded pastures, officials said.

There have been at least nine deaths related to Debby, most in vehicle accidents or from fallen trees.

This story has been updated to correct that Jaqi Kincaid was hit once by flooding, not twice. It also has been updated to correct the spelling of the Pennsylvania governor’s name.

Sharp and Whittle reported from Portland, Maine. Hill reported from Altamont, New York. Scolforo reported from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Associated Press journalists Carolyn Thompson in Buffalo, New York; Lisa Rathke in Barre, Vermont; Jeffrey Collins in Columbia, South Carolina; and Susan Haigh in Norwich, Conn. contributed to this report.

Ann Farkas stands near the waterway that flooded her home in Canisteo, N.Y. Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, after remnants of Tropical Storm Debby swept tough the area, creating flash flood conditions in some areas. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)

Ann Farkas walks in her flood-damaged home in Canisteo, N.Y., Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, after remnants of Tropical Storm Debby swept tough the area, creating flash flood conditions in some areas. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)

People are seen near an uprooted tree in Harrisburg, Pa., after extreme weather from Tropical storm Debby, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024. (Sean Simmers/The Patriot-News via AP)

A tree service worker walks past an uprooted tree on Adrian Street in Harrisburg, Pa., after extreme weather from Tropical storm Debby, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024. (Sean Simmers/The Patriot-News via AP)

A vehicle is covered by a tree in Harrisburg, Pa., after extreme weather from Tropical storm Debby, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024. (Sean Simmers/The Patriot-News via AP)

A tree is split in half on Adrian Street in Harrisburg, Pa., after extreme weather from Tropical storm Debby, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024. (Sean Simmers/The Patriot-News via AP)

Ann Farkas walks in her flood-damaged home in Canisteo, N.Y., Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, after remnants of Tropical Storm Debby swept tough the area, creating flash flood conditions in some areas. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)

Ann Farkas, left, works with her daughter Alex Farkas and family friend Damian Hartman as they clean up the Farkas home in Canisteo, N.Y., Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, after remnants of Tropical Storm Debby swept tough the area, creating flash flood conditions in some areas. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)

This photo provided by Deb Moss shows massive flooding at a farm in Canisteo, N.Y., as a double-wide trailer is seen floating downriver in the distance, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024. (Deb Moss via AP)

Children survey damage on Adrian Street in Harrisburg, Pa., after extreme weather from Tropical storm Debby, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024. (Sean Simmers/The Patriot-News via AP)

Ann Farkas walks in her flood-damaged home in Canisteo, N.Y., Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, after remnants of Tropical Storm Debby swept tough the area, creating flash flood conditions in some areas. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)

Three female mallard ducks paddle across a flooded street after heavy rainfall from Tropical Storm Debby in Frederick, Md. on Friday, Aug. 8, 2024. (Ric Dugan/The Frederick News-Post via AP)

Flooding from Tropical Storm Debby covers the street near the City Dock in Annapolis, Md., on Friday, Aug. 9, 2024 (Kaitlin Newman/The Baltimore Banner via AP)

Will Sizemore kayaks in a flooded area near the City Dock in Annapolis, Md., on Friday, Aug. 9, 2024. (Kaitlin Newman/The Baltimore Banner via AP)

Lily Gensler goes for a paddle in Fells Point in Baltimore as the remnants of Hurricane Debby pass through Maryland, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024. (Kaitlin Newman/The Baltimore Banner via AP)

Kari Lynch pick up trash from flood waters near the City Dock in Annapolis, Md., on Friday, Aug. 9, 2024. (Kaitlin Newman/The Baltimore Banner via AP)

A man walks to work in the flooded streets of downtown Baltimore on Friday, Aug. 9, 2024 (Kaitlin Newman/The Baltimore Banner via AP)

The Winooski River, swollen from precipitation from Tropical Storm Debby, is seen Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Plainfield, Vt. (AP Photo/Lisa Rathke)

Debris covers the ground in Moncks Corner, S.C., from a possible tornado as Tropical Storm Debby settles over this region of South Carolina, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024 (Megan Fernandes/The Post And Courier via AP)

A person wears flip flops as they ride their bike through a puddle in Ottawa, Ontario, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press via AP)

Robert Chesnut walks through water at his Palm Blvd. home after it was flooded by Tropical Storm Debby, Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, in Isle of Palms, S.C. (AP Photo/Mic Smith)

A storefront after Tropical Storm Debby passed by Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, in Georgetown, S.C. (AP Photo/Mic Smith)

Parts of Springfield Middle School are damaged by a tornado, spawned by Tropical Storm Debby, after passing through Lucama, N.C., Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Makiya Seminera)

Parts of Springfield Middle School are damaged by a tornado, spawned by Tropical Storm Debby, after passing Lucama, N.C., Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Makiya Seminera)

Parts of Springfield Middle School lay on the ground after being ripped off by a tornado, spawned by Tropical Storm Debby, in Lucama, N.C., Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Makiya Seminera)

Randy Sikes, left, brooms water out of Diamond Dave's Grill as residual rain water flooding the downtown area due to Tropical Storm Debby begins to recede, Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, in Bladenboro, NC. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

Randy Sikes, left, brooms water out of Diamond Dave's Grill as residual rain water flooding the downtown area due to Tropical Storm Debby begins to recede, Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, in Bladenboro, NC. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

A drain pulls in residual rain water floods the downtown area caused by Tropical Storm Debby, Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, in Bladenboro, NC. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

A middle school in Wilson County, North Carolina is seen on Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, after being damaged by a tornado spawned by Tropical Storm Debby. (Christopher Long/The Wilson Times via AP)

Robert Chesnut starts his water pump at his Palm Blvd. home after it was flooded by Tropical Storm Debby Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, in Isle of Palms, S.C. (AP Photo/Mic Smith)

Residual rain water floods the downtown area caused by Tropical Storm Debby, Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, in Bladenboro, NC. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

Emily Peterson Dowless, left, walks past her business Market on Main as residual rain water floods the downtown area caused by Tropical Storm Debby, Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, in Bladenboro, NC. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

Part of the roof of Genesis Cooper's home is shown blown off after a tornado, spawned by Tropical Storm Debby, passed through Lucama, N.C., on Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Makiya Seminera)

A roof collapsed on a house when a tornado hit near Lucama, N.C. as bands from Tropical Storm Debby moved through early Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024. (Travis Long/The News & Observer via AP)

Residual rain water floods the downtown area caused by Tropical Storm Debby, Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, in Bladenboro, NC. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

Debris from a tornado spun off by the remnants of Tropical Storm Debby, litters the campus of Springfield Middle School in Lucama, N.C., on Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Allen G. Breed)

Debris from a tornado spun off by the remnants of Tropical Storm Debby, litters the campus of Springfield Middle School in Lucama, N.C., on Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Allen G. Breed)

Randy Sikes speaks to his relatives on a mobile phone as he stands in residual rain water flooding the downtown area caused by Tropical Storm Debby, Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, in Bladenboro, NC. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

Randy Sikes speaks to his relatives on a mobile phone as he stands in residual rain water flooding the downtown area caused by Tropical Storm Debby, Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, in Bladenboro, NC. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

Debby bringing heavy rain, flooding and possible tornadoes northeast into the weekend

Debby bringing heavy rain, flooding and possible tornadoes northeast into the weekend

A house is damaged by a tornado spawned by Tropical Storm Debby in Wilson County, N.C. on Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024. (Christopher Long/The Wilson Times via AP)

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine fired six American-supplied longer-range missiles at Russia’s Bryansk region, Moscow said Tuesday, in what would be Kyiv's first use of the weapons inside Russia in 1,000 days of war.

The reported use of the Army Tactical Missile System, known as ATACMS, came as Russian President Vladimir Putin formally lowered the threshold for using nuclear weapons, opening the door to a potential nuclear response by Moscow to even a conventional attack by any nation supported by a nuclear power. That could include Ukrainian attacks backed by the U.S.

A Telegram channel affiliated with the Ukrainian military posted a video Tuesday that it says shows a U.S.-supplied ATACMS missile being fired from an undisclosed location in Ukraine. The Associated Press could not independently verify the date and location the video was filmed.

The developments marked a worrying new escalation in the conflict that has repeatedly ratcheted up international tensions. U.S. officials recently expressed dismay at Russia’s deployment of North Korean troops to help it fight Ukraine, while Moscow seethed when Washington eased restrictions on the ATACMS in recent days.

The 1,000-day mark has magnified scrutiny of how the war is unfolding and how it might end, amid signs that a turning point may be coming with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump entering the White House in about two months’ time. Trump has pledged to swiftly end the war and has criticized the amount the U.S. has spent on supporting Ukraine.

Neither Russia nor Ukraine can sustain the war for a long time, analysts say, though Russia is able to keep going for longer due to its vaster resources.

Ukraine’s forces are under severe Russian pressure on the battlefield at places on the about 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front line where its army is stretched thin. Ukrainian civilians, meanwhile, have repeatedly been clobbered by Russian drones and missiles.

On Tuesday, Ukraine claimed it hit a military weapons depot in Russia's Bryansk region in the middle of the night, though it didn't specify what weapons it used. The Ukrainian General Staff said that multiple explosions and detonations were heard in the targeted area, around Karachev.

In a statement carried by Russian news agencies, the Russian Defense Ministry said the military shot down five ATACMS missiles and damaged one more. The fragments fell on the territory of an unspecified military facility, the ministry said. The falling debris sparked a fire, but didn’t cause any damage or casualties, it said.

Neither side's claims could be independently verified.

Karachev is roughly 115 kilometers (70 miles) from the Russia-Ukraine border. Ukraine in the course of the war has been able to reach much deeper into the vast country -- but with drones rather than missiles. For instance, Russian officials have reported intercepting Ukrainian drones over Moscow, which is about 500 kilometers (310 miles) from the border and most recently Izhevsk, a city about 1,450 kilometers (900 miles) from the frontier.

Earlier on Tuesday, Ukrainian officials reported a third Russian strike in as many days on a residential area in Ukraine killed at least 12 people, including a child.

The strike by a Shahed drone in the northern Sumy region late Monday hit a dormitory of an educational facility in the town of Hlukhiv and wounded 11 others, including two children, authorities said, adding that more people could be trapped under the rubble.

On Sunday, a Russian ballistic missile with cluster munitions struck a residential area of Sumy in northern Ukraine, killing 11 people and wounding 84 others. On Monday, a Russian missile barrage sparked apartment fires in the southern port of Odesa, killing at least 10 people and wounding 43.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the series of aerial strikes proved that Putin wasn't interested in ending the war.

“Each new attack by Russia only confirms Putin’s true intentions. He wants the war to continue. Talks about peace are not interesting to him. We must force Russia to a just peace by force,” Zelenskyy said.

Zelenskyy told European Union lawmakers in a speech via video link that Russia has deployed about 11,000 North Korean troops along Ukraine’s borders and that the number could swell to 100,000.

He appeared in person at the Ukrainian parliament, where he presented what he called a “resilience plan” to dig in against the relentless Russian onslaught. He said he expects pivotal moments to occur in the war next year.

The plan outlines new approaches to army management, including the creation of a military ombudsman position and a new system of handling military contracts.

There are no plans to lower the mobilization age from the current 25, even though Ukraine is short-handed on the front line, especially in infantry.

Next year, Ukraine plans to produce at least 30,000 long-range drones and aims to manufacture 3,000 long-range missiles, Zelenskyy said, reducing its dependence on Western military support.

A fuller version of the plan will be presented next month, he said.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said Western countries are debating further help for Ukraine — “more aid, more money we have to make available to them, particularly now that the North Koreans have come on board,” he said in Brussels.

Meanwhile, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola led a special plenary session on Ukraine marking “one thousand days of terror, suffering and unimaginable loss. One thousand days of courage, resilience and unbreakable spirits.”

“Your people are an inspiration to all who value freedom around the world,” she told Zelenskyy.

Associated Press writer Lorne Cook in Brussels contributed to this report.

Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

In this photo provided by the Press Service Of The President Of Ukraine on Nov. 19, 2024, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine General Oleksandr Syrskyi speaks to parliamentarians at Verkhovna Rada in Kyiv, Ukraine. (Press Service Of The President Of Ukraine via AP)

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Services on Nov. 19, 2024, rescue workers clear the rubble of a residential building destroyed by a Russian strike in Hlukhiv, Ukraine. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)

In this photo provided by the Press Service of The President of Ukraine on Nov. 19, 2024, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks to parliamentarians at Verkhovna Rada in Kyiv, Ukraine. (Press Service of The President of Ukraine via AP)

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Services on Nov. 19, 2024, rescue workers clear the rubble of a residential building destroyed by a Russian strike in Hlukhiv, Ukraine. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Services on Nov. 19, 2024, rescue workers and volunteers clear the rubble of a residential building destroyed by a Russian strike in Hlukhiv, Ukraine. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)

The graphic above shows the long-range U.S. ATACMS missile system components. The U.S. will allow Ukraine to use American-supplied longer-range weapons to conduct strikes inside Russian territory. (AP Digital Embed)

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Services on Nov. 19, 2024, rescue workers clear the rubble of a residential building destroyed by a Russian strike in Hlukhiv, Ukraine. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Services on Nov. 19, 2024, rescue workers clear the rubble of a residential building destroyed by a Russian strike in Hlukhiv, Ukraine. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Services on Nov. 19, 2024, rescue workers clear the rubble of a residential building destroyed by a Russian strike in Hlukhiv, Ukraine. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)

In this photo provided by the Press Service Of The President Of Ukraine on Nov. 19, 2024, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks to parliamentarians at Verkhovna Rada in Kyiv, Ukraine. (Press Service Of The President Of Ukraine via AP)

In this photo provided by the Press Service Of The President Of Ukraine on Nov. 19, 2024, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy listens to the national anthem before his speech at Verkhovna Rada in Kyiv, Ukraine. (Press Service Of The President Of Ukraine via AP)