Florida braces for landfall as Tropical Storm Debby threatens 10 ft storm surge and historic rain: Live

Tropical Storm Debby is expected to strengthen rapidly into a Category 1 hurricane and make landfall in Florida’s Big Bend region early Monday.

The storm will bring “life-threatening” storm surge of up to 10 feet along Florida’s Gulf Coast. The southeast US could also historic levels of rainfall this week, the National Weather Service said.

Some areas of Georgia and South Carolina could see up to 30 inches of rain through Friday, while Florida could see up to 18 inches throughout the week, according to the NWS.

Debby will travel across Florida before blowing through southern Georgia on Tuesday. The storm is forecasted to hit South Carolina Wednesday through Friday before calming.

Governor Ron DeSantis has placed more than 60 of Florida’s counties under a state of emergency as the storm approaches. Thousands of beach-front residents, including those in Levy County and Citrus County, are under mandatory evacuation orders.

DeSantis warned that residents should prepare for “pretty catastrophic” rain, flooding and power outages this week.

“Just because you are not in the eye of the storm doesn’t mean you’re not going to have major, major effects,” he said.