ONEIDA COUNTY, N.Y. – Severe thunderstorms killed three people in central New York and dumped up to 5 inches of rain on Sunday, resulting in a rare Flash Flood Emergency as floodwaters covered roads and entered homes.
Storm reports from the National Weather Service office in Binghamton, New York, show that Oneida County’s emergency manager reported three deaths after severe storms knocked down multiple trees on at least two separate structures near Clark Mills, New York, just before 4 a.m. ET on Sunday.
Hurricane Erick makes landfall in Mexico as a Category 3 storm with devastating winds and flooding rain.
According to Oneida County officials, thunderstorms knocked out power to more than 30,000 people and caused significant damage in Kirkland, Lee, Westmoreland, and Trenton. National Grid crews are currently working to restore power.
“We are doing everything we can to respond quickly and safely to the damage left by these storms,” Oneida County Executive Anthony J. Picente, Jr., said in a statement. “Our emergency teams are on the ground, clearing roads, working with utility crews, and assessing the needs of affected communities. I urge everyone to stay alert, avoid downed power lines, and give our crews the space they require to complete their tasks.”
The same storm system brought a deluge of rain to central New York on Sunday morning.
The NWS office in Binghamton declared a Flash Flood Emergency for Chenango County just before 9 a.m. ET.
According to the NWS, 3 to 5 inches of rain had already fallen, and major flash flooding was underway, with reports of roads and bridges being overrun by water, homes taking on water, and at least 10 people stranded by flooding.
Flooding was reported in areas including Norwich, Sherburne, and New Berlin.
The flooding has prompted Chenango County to declare an emergency.
“This is a Flash Flood Emergency for Chenango County,” the NWS stated in its Flash Flood Alert. “This is a particularly dangerous scenario. Seek higher ground now.”
Strong to severe storms also caused flash flooding outside of emergency zones, including in Madison County, where the video above depicts rushing floodwaters on a farm in Morrisville, New York.
Crews from the New York Department of Transportation were clearing debris from roads after the same thunderstorm complex produced severe weather farther north in the state earlier Sunday morning, with nearly two dozen reports of damaging winds or wind damage.
Flash flood warnings remain in effect for parts of Broome and Tioga counties in central New York, as well as Susquehanna and Wayne counties in northeastern Pennsylvania, until Sunday afternoon.
