NY Woman Swept Away While Trying to Rescue Dog as Fiance Watched Helplessly During Epic Storm

An upstate New York woman was killed in flash flooding Sunday as she tried to escape her home with her dog, authorities say.

The 35-year-old drowned in the fast-moving water. Her fiance watched helplessly as she was swept away, Gov. Kathy Hochul said Monday at a news conference.

Other residents of the Orange County home were able to escape. New York’s Hudson Valley, where Orange is located, saw widespread flooding as up to eight inches of rain fell Sunday evening and overnight into Monday.

Rescue teams found the woman's body later Monday morning at the bottom of a ravine amid falling bits of debris. Her name has not been released.

The force of the flash flooding dislodged boulders, which rammed the woman’s house and damaged part of its wall, Orange County Executive Steven Neuhaus told The Associated Press.

“Her house was completely surrounded by water,” he said.

“She was trying to get through (the flooding) with her dog, and she was overwhelmed by tidal-wave type waves.”

It is unclear what happened to the dog.

Several other people were rescued from floodwaters across the region on Sunday.

The governor declared a state of emergency for Orange County due to the destruction from the storm.

Damage is estimated to be in the millions.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.