Sullivan County Prepares for Hurricane Season Rains and Flood Warning Increases

After a summer filled with devastating rains and flash flood warnings for Sullivan County, public safety agencies are preparing for the high rains of hurricane season and getting the word out to the public.

Sullivan County Legislators Brian McPhillips and Catherine Scott voiced their concerns about the flooding risks along the Upper Delaware River and its tributaries after the deadly floods along the Guadalupe River in Texas in July 2025.

“People need to be prepared,” said Scott. “And it’s not just the rivers. If you live next to a cute, babbling brook, that brook turns into a raging river.”

Flood preparedness courses are already provided at the Sullivan County Emergency Services Training Center. John Hauschild, Deputy Commissioner of Public Safety and Fire Coordinator for Sullivan County, said that while the courses have been well attended, many people throughout the county still do not take the warnings as seriously as they should.

Chief Nate Routledge of the Roscoe Rockland Fire Department echoed this concern, recounting stories where flash flood warnings were sent out to the community. When his team went to pick people up at their houses to save them from floods, many people were still not prepared to leave their homes.

Hauschild also emphasized how federal funding has helped mitigate floods and reduce dam overflow in periods of heavy rain, especially during the major floods of 2006. However, in the face of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) cutting grants to states for flood mitigation, those at the local level are working even to harder to prepare for increased rains during hurricane season.

“All cuts hurt, whether it’s on the state level, federal level, local level,” said Hauschild. “In emergency services we’re always trying to be prepared for no matter what situation arises.”

Image Credit: NewYork.gov