Doug Orbaker works in a home that was severely damaged by flood waters from Tropical Storm Debby in early August.
When it comes to the natural disasters of 2024, the United States will put Hurricanes Helene and Milton at the top of the list. Those powerful storms that occurred just over a week apart in late September and early October both hit the Gulf Coast of Florida and took similar paths north into southern states like Georgia and the Carolinas, leaving hundreds dead and causing billions of dollars in damage.
If you ask people in northcentral Pennsylvania which storm from 2024 they’ll remember the most, the answer will undoubtedly be “Debby.” A hurricane that made landfall in early August and turned into a tropical storm by the time it reached Northumberland Presbytery caused extensive damage to homes that is still being felt months later. It hit everyone by surprise.
“I was out of town when it happened,” recalled Doug Orbaker, a retired pastor in Northumberland Presbytery. “I got a call from Presbyterian Disaster Assistance; they had heard about it and called the presbytery. The presbytery staff person didn’t know anything about it.”
Doug was forwarded the call due to his role on the Susquehanna Interdenominational Network for Disaster Response, of which he is the chair. It’s a group of about 70 people formed from Northumberland Presbytery and the local Lutheran synod that does a handful of work trips each year to areas in need of long-term rebuilding following natural disasters like hurricanes and tornadoes.
When Doug returned home, his investigation of damage done from Tropical Storm Debby revealed that areas in northern Potter County and Tioga County were hit the hardest. In Tioga, more than 600 homes were affected by severe flooding.
“Water was 3-4 feet deep in many people’s homes, and of course the basement then was full,” Doug said, recalling what he saw the first time he went into the impacted areas. “We had to get the old, wet stuff out. Then drying, spraying for mold and putting new insulation, drywall and flooring back up.”
For the most part, the affected homes have been gutted out, leaving empty shells waiting for work to be done.
“Houses look OK from the outside, but when you get inside you realize that they’ve been gutted out on the ground floor and people are living upstairs,” Doug said. “Basements vary from having been shoveled out to being dirt-floor basements that were just allowed to have mud dry out and make the floor a couple inches higher.”
The water has caused extensive damage to appliances and heating systems in homes, creating a great need in those areas for specialized work groups to tackle.
“There’s a lot of people who are living and cooking out of a microwave on the second story of their house,” Doug continued. “One of the local folks said they have had several fire department calls because of people using electric space heaters because their furnaces were out.”
Tioga County Partnership for Community Health is coordinating the response, working with groups to put them in the right places to do the work that is needed. (Contact Sue Sticklin at 607-426-7084 to coordinate work trips.)
Volunteers work in a room that was heavily damaged by flood waters this summer.
“Anybody who’s reading the news and going to make a work trip of some kind or do something for disaster relief is going to either North Carolina or Florida,” Doug said, adding that there is now a need in Pennsylvania that needs addressed.
Parkhurst Memorial Presbyterian Church in Elkland has cleared out its basement to make room for lodging for work groups coming to the area. The church also coordinates a shower schedule with the local school so the volunteers have a place to bathe.
“The Elkland Church has been very supportive to any group that wants to come in and help rebuild,” Doug said. “Crews from the Wellsboro Presbyterian Church have been up and they have been spackling the drywall. We’ve had people from Presbyterian churches in Mifflinburg and Danville and several other churches around the presbytery and the Lutheran synod helping out.”
The situation is raising questions among the local people about things that can be done to avoid something like this happening again.
“People are recognizing that with being so close to the creeks that they need to do something to adapt because the climate is changing and how do we respond to a change in the way God’s earth is functioning?” Doug said. “They’re asking those kinds of questions.”
For now, the immediate need is to help rebuild homes and restore the living conditions to the hundreds of people who have suffered a great loss this summer.
“People are coming out of the woodwork to help each other,” Doug said. “People are willing to work, willing to help. People up there are very, very happy for any help at all. I see that work as God’s work.”