Tropical Storm Debby drenches Southeast with rain, high water as it drifts along the Atlantic coast

Tropical Storm Debby drenched Savannah, Georgia, stirred up tornadoes and submerged streets with waist-high floodwaters Tuesday. In one Savannah neighborhood, firefighters used boats to evacuate some residents . (AP video by Stephen Morton and Russ Bynum/ production by Javier Arciga)

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — Tropical Storm Debby drenched coastal cities in Georgia and South Carolina, stirred up tornadoes and submerged streets with waist-high floodwaters Tuesday in what is just the beginning of a prolonged storm that could dump staggering totals up to 25 inches (64 centimeters) of rain.

Charleston and Savannah took the first blow, with up to a foot (30 centimeters) of rain falling along the coast between the two cities in just over 24 hours. Police blocked all the roads into Charleston’s downtown peninsula as a precaution. Dozens of roads were closed in the historic city because of flooding similar to what it sees several times a year because of rising sea levels.

As Debby swirls just offshore, the heavy rain is expected to move north into parts of South Carolina and North Carolina that have already seen two billion-dollar floods in eight years.

In one Savannah neighborhood, firefighters used boats Tuesday afternoon to evacuate some residents and waded in waist-deep in floodwaters to deliver bottled water and supplies to others who refused to leave.

Michael Jones said downpours sent water gushing into his home Monday evening, overturning the refrigerator and causing furniture to float. Outside, the water seemed to be everywhere and was too deep to flee safely. So Jones spent a sleepless night on his kitchen table before firefighters going door-to-door came to his home in a boat Tuesday morning.

“It was hell all night,” Jones said. He added: “It was a struggle, but God is good.”

Officials in Charleston continued a curfew, closing all roads into the downtown peninsula and letting only essential workers and emergency personnel pass through. Mayor William Cogswell said the move meant the city hadn’t had to do any high water rescues and kept businesses and homes from unnecessary damage.

“We especially don’t need any yahoos driving through the water and causing damage to properties,” Cogswell said.

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster said Debby hasn’t yet been as bad as feared, but he warned residents the slow-moving storm was far from over.

It will be a nervous few days for northern South Carolina and southern North Carolina where forecasters warned up to 15 inches (38 centimeters) of rain could fall. Those totals are close to what the region saw in a historic flood from Hurricane Matthew in 2016. Then two years later, rains and flooding from Hurricane Florence broke many of those records. Both storms killed dozens.

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper declared a state of emergency Monday, and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin declared the same for his state Tuesday.

“The effects of Debby are far-reaching, and our neighboring states are facing significant challenges,” Youngkin said.

Several areas along North Carolina’s coastline are prone to flooding, such as Wilmington and the Outer Banks. Virginia could see impacts including strong winds, heavy rains and flooding.

Debby’s center was 10 miles (16 kilometers) east of Savannah, the National Hurricane Center said in its 5 p.m. advisory Tuesday. It was moving east-northeast at just 3 mph (5 kph), and right along the coastline near Georgia’s Tybee Island.

The storm was expected to slowly move out to sea, then reverse and creep back onshore Thursday near Charleston.

“Tropical cyclones always produce heavy rain, but normally as they’re moving, you know, it doesn’t accumulate that much in one place,” Richard Pasch of the hurricane center said. “But when they move very slowly, that’s the worst situation.”

There will be lulls in the rain as dry slots appear in between bands around the center of the poorly organized storm. But some of the rainbands will be heavy and will keep moving over the same places. And it is impossible to precisely predict who will get the deluges before they happen, forecasters said.

Green Pond in rural Colleton County, South Carolina, reported the most rain so far from Debby with just over 14 inches (36 centimeters). A nearby dam had water run over its top but did not crumble while trees and washouts blocked a number of roads, Colleton County Fire-Rescue Assistant Chief David Greene said.

Close to a foot (30 centimeters) of rain were reported down coast from Charleston to Savannah, where the National Weather Service reported 6.68 inches (17 centimeters) of rainfall just on Monday. That’s already a month’s worth of rain in a single day: In all of August 2023, the city got 5.56 inches (14.1 centimeters) of rain.

Tornadoes knocked down trees and damaged a few homes on Kiawah Island and Edisto Island between Savannah and Charleston. A Walmart, an Arby’s and other businesses were damaged and several vehicles flipped in Moncks Corner about 30 miles (48 kilometers) inland from Charleston.

As the heavy rain shifted up the coast to Myrtle Beach on Tuesday, Crooked Hammock Brewery in North Myrtle Beach decided to close early.

“Flash flooding is super unpredictable, and we’d rather our staff and guests be home and safe,” marketing coordinator Georgena Dimitriadis said.

Debby made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane early Monday along the Gulf Coast of Florida. At least five people have died due to the storm, either in traffic accidents or from fallen trees.

About 500 people were rescued Monday from flooded homes in Sarasota, Florida, a beach city popular with tourists, the local police department said. Just north of Sarasota, Manatee County officials said 186 people were rescued.

State officials said it may be two weeks before staff are able to fully assess storm damage in parts of north central Florida, as they wait for river levels there to crest.

“You’re going to see the tributaries rise. That’s just inevitable. How much? We’ll see,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Tuesday. “It may be that it’s not flooded today and it could be flooded tomorrow.”

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp shared a similar message Tuesday morning, warning of more rain and flooding in the coming days: “Do not let this storm lull you to sleep,” he said.

More than 155,000 customers remained without power in Florida and Georgia on Tuesday morning, down from more than 350,000, according to PowerOutage.us and Georgia Electric Membership Corp. More than 20,000 others were without power in South Carolina early Tuesday.

President Joe Biden approved emergency declarations making federal disaster assistance available to Florida, Georgia and South Carolina.

Debby is finally expected to pick up speed Thursday. The hurricane center predicts the system could move up the middle of North Carolina, through Virginia and into the Washington, D.C. area by Saturday.

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Collins reported from Columbia, South Carolina. Associated Press contributors include Jeff Martin and Sudhin Thanawala in Atlanta; Freida Frisaro in Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Kate Payne in Tallahassee, Florida; and Ben Finley in Norfolk, Virginia. AP freelance photographer Stephen B. Morton contributed from Savannah, Georgia.