Severe storms moving across New York state Friday afternoon caused flash flood emergencies in Steuben County, according to state officials.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced a statewide State of Emergency Friday afternoon as flood watches and warnings remain in effect across much of the state.
Steuben County is ordering residents in several areas along the Tuscarora Creek and along the Cohocton River to evacuate.
As of Friday afternoon, the county has ordered evacuation notices for the hamlet of Jasper, the hamlet of Woodhull, the hamlet of Campbell and the southside of the village of Addison.
The village of Canisteo is also evacuating sections of town that are close to the Canisteo River.
At 5:15 p.m. the county announced an evacuation order for residents in the hamlet of Campbell and areas along the Cohocton River on County Route 125 and Savona Campbell Road. Officials said observations and river gauges "indicated that Cohocton River will reach moderate flood stage."
County officials advise that all others should avoid unnecessary travel until further notice. Multiple roads are impassable and emergency responders are handling dozens of calls, according to the emergency notice, which was released midday Friday.
Those in need of shelter can find support at a Red Cross Shelter at the Corning-Painted Post High School Fieldhouse. There is also a safe shelter at Hornell High School.
As of 2:45 p.m. Friday Steuben County had closed the following roads:
- State Route 248 from CR 60 to CR 98 Town of West Union
- County Route 126 from Reiman Rd to SR 417 Town of Greenwood
- County Route 129 Town of Woodhull
- County Route 11 from Worth Rd Town of Bath to Risingville Hamlet Town of Thurston
- County Route 14 from CR 15 Town of Bath to CR 119 Town of Canisteo
- County Route 21 from CR 102 (Woodhull) to South Rd (Rathbone)
- State Route 36 closed between SR 248 to SR 417
- County Route 28 from CR 64 (Hartsville) to SR 248 (Canisteo)
- County Route 98 (West Union)
- County Route 77 from CR 74 to Waldo Rd (Prattsburgh)
Residents can call 511 or check the 511NY website for more information on road closures.
New York State officials say they have activated water rescue teams to support areas in need of assistance.
The National Weather Service has advised that most of the Southern Tier is at risk of flash floods as heavy rain continues into the evening.
National Weather Service meteorologist Ben Lott said much of the region experienced rainy conditions all week, making the risk for flooding higher.
"The ground has been saturated, so it hasn't been able to take in much of the additional rainfall that we saw today," Lott said. "So we've had multiple reports of flooding across the region, whether it's flooded roadways or creeks over their banks."
Lott said most of the region saw one to four inches of rainfall Friday, with certain areas getting as much as five inches. He said the heaviest rainfall should be out of the area by the end of Friday.
"There will probably be some lingering flooding issues, any creeks or streams that have overflowed their banks," Lott said. "It will take some time for those to go back down. But otherwise, we're looking at mostly quiet weather heading into the weekend."