TAMPA, Fla.—South Carolina braces for potentially catastrophic rain and flooding as Tropical Storm Debby maintains its strength but nearly comes to a stop just off the coast.
It still boasts sustained winds of 40 mph, and the power to spread tropical-storm-force winds more than 200 miles from its center.
This is after it spent four days delivering severe flooding and tornado events to the Florida peninsula, landing in the Big Bend as a Category One hurricane, and barrelling across northern Florida and southeast Georgia.
Five storm-related fatalities have been confirmed. Four in Florida and one in Georgia.
Sitting on the warm Atlantic waters, it is expected to continue drifting offshore and regain strength before making landfall again in South Carolina on Aug. 8, with sustained winds of up to 57 mph. Afterwards, it will move north, passing through Virginia and North Carolina as a tropical depression on Aug. 9.
Five states declared a state of emergency in response to Debby’s advancement, with Virginia’s Gov. Glenn Youngkin making his declaration in the afternoon of Aug. 6.
“As we prepare for Tropical Storm Debby, I urge all Virginians and visitors to stay informed, follow local emergency guidelines, and take necessary precautions to ensure the safety of their families and communities,” he said. “There is the potential for strong winds, heavy rains, and possible flooding across regions of the Commonwealth.”
North Carolina’s Gov. Roy Cooper issued his state of emergency on Aug. 5.
“This weather has the potential to bring intense rain and flooding to North Carolina and we are preparing for it,” Cooper said on Aug. 5. “As the weather becomes more severe, I urge everyone to take precautions and stay safe.”
NHC expects up to 25 inches of rainfall to bring “catastrophic flooding” across the Palmetto State, as well as parts of North Carolina through Aug. 9.
“This is a storm that we have not seen before,” South Carolina’s Gov. Henry McMaster said during a 2 p.m. briefing. “Parts of it have not been as bad as we thought–although they’ve [still] been bad–but there are some parts coming that’ll likely be worse than what we have seen before.”
McMaster was joined by several state officials and National Weather Service (NWS) meteorologist John Quagliariello who provided an update on the storm as of that briefing.
Widespread rainfall measuring nine to 13 inches across southern South Carolina has already been recorded, he said. Ongoing “life-threatening flash flooding” has closed roadways and sparked water rescue operations and long-term river flooding should be expected and could cause communities to become cut off.
Tornadoes have also likely touched down in several parts of the state, and wind gusts as strong as 63 mph were recorded among Debby’s sustained tropical-storm-force winds.
No deaths or injuries were reported.
State officials explained that the immense rains soften the soil making it easier for the weaker winds to knock down tress that block roads and cut power lines.
As of 2 p.m. on Aug. 6, there were 48 road closures to due flooding, and more than 12,000 residents without power.
Response personnel at the state’s disposal includes hundreds of South Carolina National Guard and State Guard members and law enforcement personnel, 2300 personnel with the Department of Transportation, five FEMA search and rescue teams, as well teams coming from Tennessee, Alabama, and Michigan to support.
Georgia Takes Advantage of Weather Break
While the strongest bands remain to the north, Georgians received a relative break in the weather, and Kemp said on the morning of Aug. 6 that the emergency response teams were keen to take advantage of the window.One 19-year-old boy was killed by a falling tree in Moultrie, Georgia.
“The storm has left us a little bit of a hole, if you will, in some of the affected areas. There’s a lot of work going on right now to get power back on before this storm potentially circles back and dumps a lot more rain on us,” the governor said at his 9:30 a.m. press briefing.
By 5 p.m., that number was reduced to more than 8,000 customers, according to poweroutage.us.
Ports in Brunswick, Savannah, and Charleston remain closed, and he said that the affected area is still expected to extend 50–70 miles from Savannah.
As Debby completes its rotation, the bands that are dropping rain on the Carolinas will return to Georgia. Kemp explained that there are two tracks state officials are observing. One has the eye going back out over the water, which would cause the state to receive up to eight more inches of rain. The other has the center moving more inland, and that would mean only five more inches of rain.
Either way, persistent flooding is expected over the next several days.
About 300 soldiers and airmen of the Georgia National Guard are standing by across the state, but the governor’s state of emergency declaration authorizes up to 2,000 soldiers to be activated.
“I don’t believe this storm is done with us yet,” he said. “Even though South Carolina is getting a hit harder than we are right now, we know that this is going to come back around, and we’ll be prepared for that. But I just want to make sure our citizens understand that this event is not over.”
Florida Begins Recovery Damage Assessment
Further south, Florida’s Gov. Ron DeSantis was in Steinhatchee, Florida, where Debby landed as a Category One Hurricane on the morning of Aug. 5.As recovery efforts and damage assessments get underway, he explained in a 10:30 a.m. briefing that more than 110,000 Floridians remained without power and persistent flooding remains in areas across the state.
However, nearly 600,000 cases of storm-related power outages have already been restored.
DeSantis also announced the activation of the Florida Small Business emergency loan Bridge Program.
“We have 10 million [dollars] available for businesses that have been impacted by Hurricane Debbie,” he said. “This gives immediate cash on hand needed to make repairs, keep employees on payroll until additional resources can be secured. We know daily operations matter to make ends meet, so this will help businesses be able to get back on their feet.”
Eligible businesses can get zero-interest loans of up to $50,000, and up to $100,000, loans are available for agriculture and aquaculture.
He was joined by Kevin Guthrie, executive director of Florida’s Division of Emergency Management FDEM, who told reporters that his agency has fulfilled 600 of the nearly 1,000 missions it received, and are currently working more than 400 more.
“Our recovery teams and our mitigation teams are out in the field today and tomorrow, conducting assessments as it relates to flooding,” Guthrie said. These teams will look to expedite the processes and ensure that they are complying with federal regulations.
FDEM deployed more than 1.5 million bottles of water, nearly 900,000 shelf-stable means, more than 17,000 tarps, more than 150,000 sandbags, and 120 cots.
They are also mobilizing nine Points of Distribution (PODs) to provide food, water, and tarps to residents. Those PODs are in Dixie, Jefferson, Lafayette, Manatee and Taylor counties.
Thousands of National Guard members and over 100 Florida State Guard members are on the ground in various locations across the state.
Guthrie specifically mentioned that more than 100 National Guardsmen were in Manatee County and Sarasota County to mitigate the flooding issues there, deploying tens of thousands of Tiger dam and U.S. flood control systems.
Flooding is expected to persist over the next few days.
While Hurricane Debby impacted areas still reeling from Hurricane Idalia, the governor said that the difference in damage between the two was “night and day.”
“This is from a debris perspective, not even close [to Idalia] from wind damage to private residences,” he said. “I think it won’t even be closed. Now you are going to see some flood. We know there’s hundreds of homes [affected] in the Sarasota Bradenton area, particularly along the river. We could see more homes in North Central Florida as that water rises. Hopefully, it doesn’t get to the point where people are having to be displaced.”
