Tropical Storm Debby live updates: 5 killed, dangerous flooding ongoing

Tropical Storm Debby is slamming the Southeast with heavy rain after making landfall in Florida as a Category 1 hurricane on Monday.

At least five people have been killed in Florida and Georgia.

Latest Developments

_{Aug 6, 8:44 AM}

Latest forecast

The highest rainfall totals from Tropical Storm Debby so far have been in Florida, where a foot and a half of rain fell. In Georgia, more than 10 inches of rain is estimated just north of Savannah.

Another 8 to 20 inches of rain is forecast for Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina, with the highest totals over the next two days expected along the South Carolina-North Carolina border.

Debby is crawling Tuesday morning, moving northeast at just 7 mph.

Debby is expected to stall near the Georgia-South Carolina border for the next two days, continuing to dump heavy rain and push ocean water onshore.

Extreme flooding is possible in South Carolina. A flash flood warning is in effect from Savannah to Charleston.

After leaving the Carolinas, Debby’s remnants will move up the East Coast, bringing heavy rain and potentially serious flooding to the Northeast Friday night into Saturday night.

_{Aug 6, 8:29 AM}

5 killed including 2 kids

At least five people have been killed from Debby, authorities said.

A 13-year-old boy was killed when a tree fell on a mobile home Monday morning in Levy County, Florida, which encompasses Cedar Key, according to the Levy County Sheriff’s Office.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with this family as they deal with this tragedy," the sheriff’s office said in a statement. "We encourage everyone to use extreme caution as they begin to assess and clean up the damage. Downed powerlines and falling trees are among the many hazards."

In Hillsborough County, Florida, which encompasses Tampa, a driver of a semi was killed when the truck went into a canal off Interstate 275 Monday morning, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.

Deputies recovered the semi and found the driver dead inside the cab, authorities said.

In Dixie County, Florida, a driver “lost control due to the inclement weather and wet roadway” on Sunday night, crashing into the center median guardrail and then overturning the car, the Florida Highway Patrol said.

The driver, a 38-year-old woman, and a passenger, a 12-year-old boy, were killed, authorities said.

Another passenger, a 14-year-old boy, was seriously injured, the highway patrol said.

In Moultrie, Georgia, a 19-year-old man was struck and killed by a fallen tree while he was inside a home on Monday, according to Moultrie police.

_{Aug 6, 6:15 AM}

More than 150,000 customers without power, tracker says

More than 150,000 customers were without power early Tuesday in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina, according to PowerOutage.us , a tracker of energy providers.

Florida had the highest number of outages, with more than 116,000, followed by more than 26,000 in George and almost 12,000 in South Carolina.

-ABC News’ Victoria Arancio and Kevin Shalvey

_{Aug 5, 11:44 PM}

Debby to bring historic 10-20 inches of rainfall: Forecast

Despite weakening since moving over land, Debby is still maintaining its tropical storm status, producing maximum sustained wind speeds of 45 mph.

As of 11 p.m. ET, over 150,000 customers in Florida and Georgia are still without power, according to PowerOutage.us .

With Debby's center about 35 miles west of Brunswick, Georgia, much of the heavy rain and showers have since moved out of Florida (except for the extreme northeastern corner of the state closer to the Georgia border). However, with the storm slowing down even more, Debby will stay stuck over the Southeast for the better part of this week, meandering over Georgia and the Carolinas.

Even though the storm is expected to weaken a bit more overnight, Debby is still expected to bring historic rainfall and life-threatening flooding to portions of southeastern Georgia and the coastal areas of the Carolinas over the next few days. Rainfall totals from this event are expected to reach between 10 and 20 inches.

Already, portions of southeastern Georgia and South Carolina have seen between 3 to 6 inches of rainfall, but with rainfall rates of 1.5 to 3 inches per hour possible, flood alerts remain in effect.

A Flash Flood Warning was issued for Charleston, South Carolina, where rainfall rates between 1.5 and 2.5 inches are expected. Ongoing or new flooding is expected, with an additional 2 to 4 inches of rain possible over the next few hours.

As onshore flow continues, storm surge remains an issue in Savannah, Georgia, and Charleston, South Carolina. Storm surge alerts remain in effect up the Georgia and Carolina coastlines.

Rainfall aside, Debby could also generate some spin-up tornadoes as it swirls over the Georgia-South Carolina border tonight. As a result, a Tornado Watch also remains in effect for parts of southeastern Georgia and South Carolina until 1 a.m. ET.

Over the next 48 hours, Debby is expected to meander back over the Atlantic but will continue to hug the coastline before heading back inland over the Carolinas again. Slight strengthening can't entirely be ruled out as it moves back over water, but ultimately, Debby is expected to weaken once it moves back inland. Strength aside, it will still bring significant rainfall to portions of the Southeast, which will likely lead to catastrophic flooding in some areas.

Debby is expected to eventually drift toward the north/northeast by the end of the week into the weekend. As it heads north, it will likely weaken to a tropical depression or remnant low. Regardless, heavy rainfall is still expected up the I-95 corridor heading into this weekend.

-ABC News meteorologist Shawnie Caslin Martucci

_{Aug 5, 9:26 PM}

Power returns to some Florida customers as Debby moves northeast

As of Monday evening, 146,034 customers are without power in Florida, according to the latest update from a U.S. power outage map.

This marks an improvement from Monday morning, which saw nearly 300,000 customers without power at 9:50 a.m. ET, the height of outages across the state.

During a press conference in Tallahassee Monday morning, Gov. Ron DeSantis said the state's emergency department had 17,000 linemen working to restore power in the wake of the storm.

"We have a lot of restoration personnel ready to go," DeSantis said.

_{Aug 5, 8:42 PM}

Debby weakening, but threats of tornadoes, heavy rain continue

Tropical Storm Debby continues to weaken, with maximum sustained winds down to 45 mph as of 8 p.m. ET. The weather pattern is moving very slowly to the northeast at 6 mph, and the center is currently about 50 miles east of Valdosta, Georgia.

Even though Debby is now inland and continues to weaken, many of the impacts -- especially the heavy rainfall and dangerous flash flood threat -- will not abate for several days. For many locations in coastal Georgia and South Carolina, the worst is yet to come.

The tornado threat continues along portions of the Georgia and South Carolina coasts this evening and into tonight. A Tornado Watch remains in effect from Savannah, Georgia, to Charleston, South Carolina, until at least 1 a.m. ET.

Parts of Florida, including Sarasota and Lakewood Ranch, are reporting over a foot of rain from Debby, and portions of Suwannee County, including Live Oak, are getting around a foot as well.

So far, parts of Georgia, including Savannah, are reporting nearly 4" of rain. The same can be said for Hilton Head, South Carolina.

Conditions will continue to deteriorate across much of South Carolina overnight Monday into Tuesday, with widespread areas of heavy rain and the potential for dangerous, significant flash flooding during nighttime hours.

Coastal flooding and storm surges will continue to increase in the coming hours as winds increase and more persistent heavy rain moves in, heading into high tide along the Georgia and South Carolina coasts.

By late Tuesday afternoon or early evening, the center of Debby will likely be moving off the Southeast coast and into the Atlantic, where it will meander for about 24 hours before likely turning back toward the coast and potentially making another landfall as a tropical storm somewhere along the South Carolina coast by Thursday morning or afternoon.

-ABC News meteorologist Daniel Peck

_{Aug 5, 7:07 PM}

More than 163,000 customers without power in Florida

More than 163,000 customers are without power in Florida, according to PowerOutage.us , which tracks energy outages.

_{Aug 5, 6:37 PM}

Curfew set for Charleston, South Carolina

A curfew will go into effect overnight for Charleston, South Carolina, due to Debby, city officials said Monday.

Thoroughfares leading into the peninsula will be closed from 11 p.m. ET Monday to noon ET Tuesday, the city said, as the region braces for potential impacts such as tropical storm-force winds, heavy rain and isolated tornadoes.

"We urge everybody to stay inside, stay indoors and do not travel," Charleston Mayor William Cogswell said at a press briefing Monday evening.

_{Aug 5, 5:53 PM}

Biden approves emergency declaration request from South Carolina

President Joe Biden has approved a request from South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster for an emergency declaration in the state due to Debby, the White House said.

The declaration allows the Federal Emergency Management Agency to mobilize and provide equipment and resources necessary.

"The President continues to urge residents to remain vigilant and heed the warnings of State and local officials," the White House said in a statement.

-ABC News' Cheyenne Haslett

_{Aug 5, 5:47 PM}

North Carolina governor declares state of emergency

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper declared a state of emergency ahead of severe weather, including life-threatening flash flooding, expected across the state due to Debby.

"This weather has the potential to bring intense rain and flooding to North Carolina and we are preparing for it," Cooper said in a statement. "As the weather becomes more severe, I urge everyone to take precautions and stay safe."

The emergency declaration will allow for the state to mobilize resources to respond to the storm.

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