‘Where was the warning?’: Accomac owner asks after dangerous flood

Floods took out parts of Accomac Road, in Hellam Township, and brought many power lines down with it as well, Saturday, September 1, 2018. Heavy rains flooded on Friday night flooded much of York County, leaving many roads closed and some destroyed. (Photo: Ty Lohr, York Daily Record)

(Undated) — Doug Campbell bought The Accomac two weeks before Hurricane Agnes, the storm which all storms are measured against in York County. 

The Susquehanna River crested at 16 feet above flood stage during that devastating storm in June 1972, when the restaurant’s basement filled with water. 

There was no water inside the Accomac after flash flooding on Friday, but Charlene Campbell said this storm was worse. 

“It came so fast,” she said. “This is the worst thing we’ve ever experienced. My husband bought the business 47 years ago, and he’s never seen anything like this.” 

When a nearby creek pushed over its banks and washed away a water supply and about 40 feet of River Road, Charlene Campbell wondered how the people in the Accomac would get home. 

“It wasn’t the river this time. It was the creek that did all the damage, and there was no road,” she said.

She and others walked to safety Friday night and returned for their cars Saturday after the water receded. 

“It was a real task to get out of here, about 12 of us were stuck here,” Charlene Campbell said. “We got out before dark. We all had to walk out. It was dangerous trying to get out with the power lines down.”

The walk was surreal. 

“We were in shock. Everybody was. It felt like we were looking at it on TV, like it was not real, like we were somewhere else,” she said.

The Accomac with the Susquehanna River in the background. Paul Kuehnel, York Daily Record

On Monday, the Campbells got some good news: electricity at The Accomac was restored Sunday night, and a new road will be completed Monday night or Tuesday morning. 

“I’m shocked at the progress that has been made. I’m pretty excited,” Charlene Campbell said. 

The restaurant is on track to reopen Friday, just in time for three weddings planned over the weekend. 

“Everyone is chipping in. Nothing stops us,” Charlene Campbell said. 

Now that she has some time to reflect on what happened, she has an important question: “Where was the warning?”

In previous storms, including Agnes, there was a warning. Five years ago, during a hurricane warning, she had time to take everything to a safe location.

“The problem with this was nobody knew it was coming,” Charlene Campbell said. “There was a chance of storms, and then it was pouring. Next thing you knew, you couldn’t get your cars out of here. It was very scary and very swift.”

York County spokesman Mark Walters agrees there was “no real warning” before the storm Friday. 

“It hit. It hit fast, with very little knowledge ahead of time,” he said.

Three days after the flash flooding, York County is still in the cleanup phase. Since Saturday, close to 100 people submitted storm damage information through the county’s