Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis warned that just because Tropical Storm Debby is moving toward Georgia, that doesn’t mean the state won’t continue to see threats as waterways north of the border fill up and flow south.
“It is a very saturating, wet storm,” DeSantis said during a briefing at the state’s emergency operations center. “When they crest and the water that’s going to come down from Georgia, it’s just something that we’re going to be on alert for not just throughout today, but for the next week.”
Record-setting rain was forecast to cause flash flooding in coastal Georgia and South Carolina and into North Carolina, with up to 30 inches (76 centimeters) of rainfall in some areas, according to the National Hurricane Center. Debby made landfall early Monday as a Category 1 hurricane over Florida’s gulf coast. The storm was moving slowly to the north-northeast and was expected to slow down as it turns to the east.
No deaths or injuries in Florida county where Debby made landfall, sheriff says
The sheriff of Florida’s Taylor County, where Debby came ashore as a hurricane Monday, says there are no deaths or injuries in the sparsely populated area located in the state’s northern Big Bend region.
But Sheriff Wayne Padgett advised anyone who had evacuated from low-lying and coastal areas to wait before returning because the tide will be coming in and it’s unknown how deep the water might get. Several roads are closed due to flooding as well as trees and power lines downed by the storm, Padgett said.
Debby made landfall as a category 1 hurricane near Steinhatchee, a tiny community of less than 1,000 residents.
Mayor warns tourists, residents on South Carolina’s Hilton Head Island: Don’t let your guard down
No evacuations were planned Monday on South Carolina’s Hilton Head Island, one of the state’s most popular beach destinations. But Mayor Alan Perry warned tourists and residents not to let their guard down with forecasts predicting up to 30 inches (76 centimeters) of rain this week from Debby.
“We don’t know how much rain is going to fall. But we have to prepare for the worst,” Perry said. “If that happens, we will see an event we have never seen on Hilton Head before.”
In a video posted on Facebook, Perry asked island residents and visitors to check on each other before the heavy rain starts — and maybe help the city out by checking storm drains. “If you are able to go out and pull some debris from those drains so they can drain, that’s is really key to preventing additional flooding,” he said.
Hilton Head Island has about 38,000 residents. Officials estimate up to 250,000 tourists can be on the island on the busiest summer days.
In saturated Savannah, residents prepare for potentially historic rains
As Debby threatened to dump potentially historic flooding rains across southeast Georgia, more than 20 people in Savannah filled sandbags at a park in the city’s suburban southside. Rain soaked their clothes and mud stuck to their shoes. Officials are especially concerned about Debby because the area already is saturated after Savannah recorded 8.5 inches of rain in July, 3 inches greater than normal, according to the National Weather Service.
Jim Froncak tossed a dozen full bags into the back of his pickup truck while his son and a friend did the shoveling. Even though his home sits about 2 feet off the ground, Froncak said he won’t be surprised if a nearby ditch overflows with floodwaters capable of reaching his doors.
“A really heavy thunderstorm will fill it up,” Froncak said. “So whatever’s coming is really going to fill it up and flow over.”
City crews spent days ahead of Debby’s arrival clearing storm drains throughout Savannah. Some low-lying neighborhoods outside the historic downtown area had flooded streets from thunderstorms less than two weeks ago.
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