TAMPA, Fla.—Tropical Storm Debby crawled toward the Florida–Georgia line on the evening of Aug. 5, less than 12 hours after making landfall in Florida as a Category One hurricane.
Radar and satellite images revealed that its outer bands remained stretched across the southeastern United States, delivering debilitating rain and winds from Cape Coral, Florida, to North Carolina.
It still boasted maximum sustained winds of 50 mph and a ground speed of just 6 mph. Its crawling pace has weather and government officials in three states prepared for a multi-day rainfall event of potentially catastrophic proportions.
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) warned that across portions of southeast Georgia, the coastal plain of South Carolina, and southeast North Carolina, 10 inches to 20 inches of rainfall were expected through Aug. 10.
“This potential historic rainfall will likely result in areas of catastrophic flooding,” the center said in its advisory at 5 p.m. local time.
Storm surge and tropical storm watches have been issued for areas north of South Santee River, South Carolina, to Cape Fear, North Carolina.
NHC’s projected track has Debby hovering over Georgia and South Carolina, with the center not arriving over North Carolina until Aug. 9.
The storm’s forecast caused Vice President Kamala Harris to postpone her campaign stop in Savannah, Georgia, which was scheduled for Aug. 9, according to officials with her presidential campaign.
“We expect to have several rivers and streams go into major flood stage,” Kevin Guthrie, executive director of Florida’s Division of Emergency Management, said during a 7:30 a.m. briefing at the Emergency Operations Center.
“So please be careful if you live along those areas. Some of these areas will continue to receive upward of 15 to 20 inches of rain. All of that will drain into the river basins,” he said.
“This is going to be an event that is going to be probably here for the next five to seven days, maybe as long as 10 days, depending on how much rainfall we get.”
States of emergency have been declared in Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina.President Joe Biden received a briefing on his administration’s response to Tropical Storm Debby, a White House official said on Aug. 5.
“Our administration is in touch with officials from Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina, and FEMA has deployed staff to Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina to assist as needed,” the official said.
“We urge residents to remain cautious and listen to state and local officials.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency on Aug. 1 for 54 of his state’s 67 counties. The next day, he added seven counties to the list.
President Biden approved Florida’s emergency declaration on Aug. 3.
Hurricane-force winds (74 mph or greater) extended 25 miles from the storm’s center, and tropical storm-force winds (39 mph to 73 mph) radiated 140 miles out.
However, while the storm’s center was finally over land, its outer bands had been moving across the Florida Peninsula for several days prior.Several sections of Florida’s West Coast have received more than one foot of rain and more than four feet of storm surge, with reports of severe flooding and multiple confirmed tornados from Collier County to Levy County.
Areas affected included the Charlotte Harbor area and around Tampa Bay.
Up to 10 feet of storm surge was predicted for Debby’s impact area of the Florida Panhandle.
The National Weather Service offices are currently conducting assessments to determine exact statistics.
The deaths of at least four people, including two minors, have been attributed to the storm.
The driver of a semi-truck died after his 18-wheeler veered off I-75 into the Tampa Bypass Canal on the morning of Aug. 5, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.
The truck was submerged in 14 feet of water, and divers recovered the driver’s body from the cab, the agency said in a video posted to social media platform X.
Farther north on Florida’s West Coast, a 13-year-old male was crushed by a tree that fell on his mobile home, according to the Levy County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies responded to the scene at about 8 a.m. on Aug. 5.
DeSantis confirmed two fatalities—those of a 12-year-old boy and a 38-year-old woman—in a traffic accident in Dixie County.
The governor said about 250,000 Floridians were without power as of Aug. 5, although 450,000 accounts had been restored.
Those still without power include 113,000 users of private utility companies, 111,000 from co-ops, and 20,000 customers of municipal utilities.
DeSantis and Guthrie said that FDEM had completed 435 storm-related missions and that its teams were proceeding with another 400.
Large numbers of emergency workers were activated—including 3,000 members of Florida’s National Guard and 17,000 linemen—and millions of meals and water bottles readied.
However, the governor said he was confident that not all of the emergency stockpiles would be necessary.
He said he and Guthrie will be visiting affected areas on Aug. 6.
“We will not even scratch the surface of needing to use what was mobilized, and I think that’s the way to do it,” the governor said.
“We want to make sure that we’re prepared for the worst and we hope for the best. You never want to have a storm, but compared to ... Idalia, this one is not leaving the same destruction in its wake.
“We know there’s a lot of water. We know that presents hazards, and we'll be ready to work accordingly.”
