Tropical Storm Debby Unleashes Historic Flooding Across Southeast, Threatens Major Cities
Tropical Storm Debby is now taking heavy rains and widespread flooding across the Southeast, after making landfall in Florida as a Category 1 hurricane.The storm is expected to bring prolonged downpours and catastrophic flooding throughout Tuesday and the coming days, impacting some of America’s most historic Southern cities, CBS News reports, citing forecasters.
Debby currently raging in southwestern Savannah, Georgia, is moving slowly northeastward. The National Hurricane Center has warned of potentially historic rainfall totals of 10-20 inches, with some areas expected to get up to 25 inches, leading to devastating flooding across parts of southeastern Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina. Flash flooding, urban flooding, and river flooding are all possible.
The storm has already claimed at least five lives, including two children, in Florida and Georgia.
As of early Tuesday morning, roughly 154,000 households were left without power across Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina, and over 1,600 flights were cancelled nationwide.
Charleston and Savannah have both announced curfews, and Charleston has implemented its emergency plan, including sandbag distribution, parking garage access for residents, and a real-time online map showing flooded road closures.
South Carolina officials are urging residents to take precautions as the storm’s impact is expected to be significant.
“The heavy rains and flooding currently predicted this week are historic in scope and scale. Our experts with the National Hurricane Center believe flooding to be catastrophic for many parts of South Carolina. Take no chances with this storm,” South Carolina Emergency Management Division Director Kim Stenson has warned.
