Florida residents were ordered to evacuate as Debby strengthened into a hurricane Sunday night and headed toward the city's Gulf Coast, potentially bringing record rainfall and significant flooding.
The storm quickly grew to a Category 1 hurricane, the weakest on the five-level scale, due to the unusually warm Gulf of Mexico, and is projected to hit Florida's Big Bend area around midday Monday. AFP reported.
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) has warned of potentially life-threatening storm surge along the Gulf Coast, with potential for inundation of six to ten feet in some regions.
As Debby moves northeast toward Georgia and South Carolina over the next few days, it is expected to bring catastrophic flooding with potentially historic levels of heavy rainfall, the NHC said.
“We are looking at very, very significant flooding, particularly in north-central Florida,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said at an emergency briefing on the storm Sunday.
He and NHC Deputy Director Jamie Rhome have stressed that Floridians should begin making and completing their final emergency preparations immediately.
At 11 p.m., Debby was located about 100 miles west of Tampa with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph and moving north at 12 mph, according to the advisory.
Debby is expected to dump 6 to 12 inches of rain on parts of Florida and 20 to 30 inches (50 to 75 cm) on the coast of Georgia and South Carolina by the end of the week, the NHC said.
The governors of Georgia and South Carolina have declared a state of emergency in anticipation of the storm.
Brennan predicted “several days of very, very heavy rainfall,” possibly at record levels. He said there will likely be severe flash flooding “in areas that don't normally flood.”
President Joe Biden on Sunday approved an emergency declaration for Florida, allowing federal aid to be expedited.
DeSantis has activated the state's National Guard, with 3,000 military personnel on standby to assist with the storm response.
