Four Killed After Storm Debby Hits Florida Coast

AFP/APP

Miami: At least four people were killed as Tropical Storm Debby drenched Florida on Monday, threatening southeastern US states with heavy rainfall and catastrophic flooding.

A 13-year-old boy died when a tree was blown onto a mobile home in Levy County, according to the sheriff’s office. This occurred after Debby made landfall on Florida’s Gulf Coast earlier Monday as a Category One hurricane.

Authorities reported that a truck driver was killed when his 18-wheeler plunged into a canal in Hillsborough County. Additionally, a 38-year-old woman and a 12-year-old boy died in a car crash in Dixie County.

The storm is expected to move into Georgia overnight, before moving offshore and approaching the South Carolina coast on Thursday, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC). 

“This is a level four out of four risk for excessive rainfall,” Michael Brennan, director of the NHC, told reporters. “This is going to result in a prolonged extreme rainfall event with potential for catastrophic flooding across coastal portions of Georgia, South Carolina, even extending up into North Carolina,” he added.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis reported that around 250,000 residents in his state were without power. “Please, be very cautious when you’re going out,” he said, noting that Debby’s winds had not been as damaging as previous hurricanes that have hit Florida.

President Joe Biden approved an emergency declaration for Florida on Sunday, allowing federal aid to be expedited. DeSantis has activated the state’s National Guard, with over 3,000 service members mobilized to help with the storm response.

By late afternoon, the NHC reported that the storm was registering maximum sustained winds of 50 mph (85 kph) as it moved over Florida. Storm surge warnings—indicating a life-threatening inundation from rising water—are in effect in parts of Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina.

Debby is expected to bring “potentially historic rainfall” of up to 30 inches as it continues north, the NHC said. However, Debby was weakening after making landfall earlier with sustained speeds of 80 mph (130 kph) as a Category One hurricane—the lowest on a scale of five.

Mandatory evacuations were ordered for parts of Citrus County, Florida, with eight other counties under voluntary evacuation orders, according to local media. Police in the city of Sarasota reported that about 500 residents were evacuated from their flooded homes.

The governors of Georgia and South Carolina have declared states of emergency ahead of the storm’s arrival. Meanwhile, the US Border Patrol announced that Debby had washed up 25 packages of cocaine to the coast of the Florida Keys, where they were seized. The intended shipment had a street value of more than $1 million, acting chief patrol Agent Samuel Briggs II said on X.

In July, at least 18 people were killed when the powerful Hurricane Beryl tore through the Caribbean before hitting the southern US states of Texas and Louisiana. Scientists say climate change likely plays a role in the rapid intensification of storms like Beryl because there is more energy in a warmer ocean for them to feed on.