Debby kills at least 5 as Southeast braces for severe flooding

CHARLESTON, S.C. (NewsNation) — Tropical Strom Debby has claimed 5 lives and led to the rescue of 500 others from flooded homes arsenic Northern Florida, the coastal regions of Georgia and South Carolina and parts of North Carolina brace for terrible weather.

The National Hurricane Center warned of "life-threatening flash flooding and large stream flooding," arsenic the slow-moving tempest brings torrential rains.

More than 140,000 radical are without powerfulness crossed the Southeast. The heaviest rainfall is expected aboriginal successful the week, but it could proceed done Saturday, forecasters said.

Debby made landfall arsenic a Category 1 hurricane on Florida's Big Bend connected Monday, hitting the tiny assemblage of Steinhatchee first. It damaged homes and businesses and caused flooding earlier being downgraded to a tropical tempest aboriginal that day.

Tropical Storm Debby-related deaths

The decease toll from Debby has risen to five.

In Florida, a 13-year-old lad was killed erstwhile a histrion fell onto a mobile location successful Levy County, adjacent Gainesville, NewsNation affiliate WKRN reported.

In Hillsborough County, adjacent Tampa, a operator was recovered dead aft his semitrailer became submerged successful the Tampa Bypass Canal disconnected Interstate 75 during the tempest Monday.

In Dixie County, conscionable westbound of Gainesville, officials reported that a 38-year-old pistillate and a 12-year-old died erstwhile their car crashed into a guardrail on U.S. Highway 19 on Sunday night.

In confederate Georgia, a 19-year-old was killed aft a ample histrion fell onto a structure astatine a location successful Moultrie, The Moultrie Observer reported.

How overmuch rainfall is expected?

Forecasters foretell the strategy could bring up to 20 inches of rainfall to wide areas of the Southeast, with immoderate areas getting up to 30 inches.

That would beryllium a record-setting rainfall, shattering the grounds from a tropical strategy successful 2018's Hurricane Florence. More than 23 inches of rainfall was recorded successful South Carolina aft that tempest deed the Carolinas.

Although Debby was classified arsenic a Category 1, “It truly is worthy of a Category 3 oregon 4 rating, if you privation to speech astir rainfall impacts,” said Jeff Masters, laminitis of Weather Underground, present with Yale Climate Connections. “That’s going to origin a batch of damage.”

What areas are astatine risk?

Northern Florida and low-lying areas including Savannah, Georgia, and Hilton Head Island and Charleston, South Carolina, are expected to spot the astir terrible flooding. North Carolina could besides beryllium impacted.

Officials successful Savannah warned the country could spot a month’s worthy of rainfall successful 4 days if the strategy stalls. There were besides flooding concerns for Tybee Island, Georgia’s largest nationalist formation 18 miles eastbound of Savannah. On apical of immoderate torrential downpours that Debby dishes out, the land could get adjacent wetter from 2 to 4 feet of tempest surge, according to the National Hurricane Center.

“We don’t cognize however overmuch rainfall is going to fall, but we person to hole for the worst,” Hilton Head Island Mayor Alan Perry said connected a video posted to Facebook. “If that happens, we volition spot an lawsuit we person ne'er seen connected Hilton Head before.”

Meanwhile, Charleston County interim Emergency Director Ben Webster called Debby a “historic and perchance unprecedented event” 3 times successful a 90-second briefing Monday morning.

Few places successful South Carolina are arsenic susceptible to flooding arsenic Charleston. Much of the metropolis and surrounding areas founded successful 1670 were built connected onshore created by utilizing capable ungraded and different debris. Rising oversea levels origin a fig of insignificant flooding events adjacent without a tempest and similar galore coastal cities, Charleston can’t drain well.

The metropolis doesn’t expect a monolithic magnitude of flooding from the ocean, but the tempest is inactive dangerous. Heavy rainfall tin backmost up into the city, besides causing flooding.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.