Tropical Storm Debby

By Rich McKay

ATLANTA (Reuters) – Tropical Storm Debby has brought relentless rain to the U.S. Southeast as it drifts off the Carolinas, threatening the region with dangerous flooding, while gaining speed and moving north in the coming days.

At least six people have died in Florida and Georgia following the storm, which made landfall on Florida’s Gulf Coast on Monday as a Category 1 hurricane before heading northeast. It is predicted to continue posing a threat to the Southeastern and mid-Atlantic coasts for several days.

Governors of the Carolinas, Florida, and Georgia have declared states of emergency. The storm has already submerged neighborhoods and communities, with widespread flooding washing out streets and inundating homes.

“All North Carolinians across our state need to be prepared for a deluge,” said North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper during a briefing at the state’s Department of Emergency Management on Wednesday.

Officials in Charleston, South Carolina, lifted a citywide curfew on Wednesday, indicating that no rescues were needed overnight as the worst of the storm had passed.

However, the storm is expected to deliver an additional 3 to 9 inches (7.6 cm to 23 cm) of rainfall to the Carolina coast, according to the National Weather Service. This would result in a total of 25 inches (64 cm) in South Carolina and 15 inches (38 cm) in southeastern North Carolina near Wilmington and coastal Georgia.

As of late Wednesday, Debby was about 25 miles (40 kms) east-northeast of Charleston, moving at approximately 3 miles per hour (5 km per hour) toward the north-northwest, with maximum sustained winds of 60 mph (97 kph). The National Hurricane Center forecasts the storm to make landfall again in South Carolina early Thursday.

The greatest threat from Debby lies in the significant rain volume and the potential for flooding that could persist into the following week. In South Carolina, 15 homes sustained major damage, and one was completely destroyed due to the flooding.

Parts of Virginia are expected to receive 3 to 7 inches (7.6 to 17.8 cm) of rain through Friday, while Maryland, Pennsylvania, and upstate New York could face 2 to 4 inches (5.1 cm to 10.2 cm) through Saturday, with flash flood risks, according to the weather center.

Neil Dixon, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Charleston, stated, “This is certainly an extreme rainfall event,” noting the breaking of daily rainfall records in the area. “In that respect, the flooding has been something that we haven’t seen in many years.”

Emergency management officials are vigilantly monitoring as rainwater flows into the numerous river systems around the Carolinas. The National Water Prediction Service warns that seven waterways are expected to reach major flood levels before the weather event concludes.