HUGER, SC (AP) – Tropical Storm Debbie A second landslide has made its way up the East Coast in South Carolina, where residents as far north as Vermont could receive several inches of rain this weekend.
The National Hurricane Center says Debbie made landfall early Thursday morning near Bull’s Bay, South Carolina. The storm is expected to move inland and spread Heavy rain and possible flooding All the way through the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast for the weekend.
Debbie Landed first A Category 1 hurricane hit Florida’s Gulf Coast early Monday morning. It is now A tropical storm Winds with maximum gusts of 50 mph (80 kph).
Significant flooding is expected through Friday in parts of eastern South Carolina and southeastern North Carolina, and 3 to 9 inches (8 to 23 centimeters) of rain is forecast, as well as parts of Virginia, the hurricane center said.
Days of rain have forced flood-hardened South Carolina communities to begin the almost ritualistic task of assessing the damage left behind by Debbie, who has continued to churn across the Atlantic Ocean and lashed thunderstorms from the East Coast to the Great Lakes. . The National Weather Service office in Charleston said monitoring teams had confirmed four Debbie-related tornadoes.
Around 3 a.m. Thursday, an apparent tornado formed as Debbie’s outer bands swept across North Carolina, damaging at least four homes, a church and a school in Wilson County, east of Raleigh, county officials said. No immediate injuries. Debbie could bring more tornadoes to parts of North Carolina and Virginia on Thursday, forecasters said.
In Hugar, about 15 miles (24 kilometers) northeast of Charleston, Jean Taylor waited for a few inches of water to recede from her home in the afternoon as high tide passed through French Quarter Creek.
People stand in front of a house damaged by a fallen tree in Lake Avon, Ohio, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP via Joshua Gunter/Cleveland.com)
Taylor saw the potential for flooding last week and began moving items in her home out or up. It’s a lesson learned the hard way — Taylor estimates this is the fourth time her home has flooded in the past nine years.
“To save everything, we’ve learned from the past, it’s better to be prepared for the worst. Unfortunately, I think we got it,” Taylor said.
A few doors down, Charles Granger was cleaning up after about 8 inches (20 centimeters) of water flooded his home.
“Eight inches can disrupt your whole life,” Grainger said. “You are not used to it. You grin and bear it. It’s just part of living on the creek.
In Georgia, at least four dams broke northwest of Savannah in Bulloch County, but no deaths were reported, officials said at a briefing.
Emergency Management Director Corey Kemp said more than 75 people were rescued from flooding in the county, and about 100 roads were closed.
“We’re faced with a lot of things we’ve never faced before,” Bullock County Commission Chairman Roy Thompson said. “I’m 78-plus years old and never seen anything like this in Bulloch County before. It’s amazing what happened, and it’s amazing what’s going to happen until all this water gets out of here.
For residents on that day Tappan Zee Drive in Suburban Pooler, west of Savannah, Georgia, is a dip that comes with a painful dose of déjà vu for Debbie Debbie. In October 2016, Hurricane Matthew filled a nearby canal, flooding many. The same houses.
Located about 30 miles (50 kilometers) inland from the Atlantic Ocean, with no nearby creeks or rivers, the neighborhood is not known to be a high-risk area for tropical flooding. But despite efforts by the local government to fix the drainage problems, residents say their street has been plagued by drainage problems for over a decade.
Debbie dumped rain on the Great Lakes and communities as far away as New York and New Jersey. The tropical storm’s moisture strengthened another system Tuesday evening, producing strong thunderstorms, according to Weather Service meteorologist Scott Kleibauer.
“We had several rounds of showers and thunderstorms moving eastward from Michigan,” Kleibauer said.
A downed tree is seen in Bay Village, Ohio, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, as storm cleanup begins after damaging winds in northeast Ohio. (AP via Joshua Gunter/Cleveland.com)
6 inches (15 centimeters) of rain fell in parts of New Jersey within four hours.
Emergency officials in New York City have warned of possible flash flooding. Flying drones with loudspeakers Some neighborhoods are telling people in basement apartments to be ready to evacuate at a moment’s notice. Several water rescues were reported in and around the city.
According to PowerOutage.us, about 270,000 customers were without power in Ohio as of Thursday morning following severe storms, including two confirmed tornadoes. Utility officials at FirstEnergy’s Illuminating Company said via social media that it would take several days to restore power due to the damage.
In South Carolina, Gov. Henry McMaster said his state was entering Act 2 of a three-step plan after more than 60 homes were damaged but roads and water systems remained without significant problems.
Final action could come next week if enough rain falls in North Carolina to cause major flooding in rivers that flow into the Atlantic Ocean.
A state of emergency is in effect in both North Carolina and Virginia. Maryland has issued a preparedness notice that consolidates products without declaring an emergency.
At least six people died as a result of the storm, five of them in traffic accidents or falling trees. The sixth fatality involved a 48-year-old man in Gulfport, Florida, whose body was recovered after his anchored sailboat partially sank.
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This story has been updated to remove an incorrect reference to the Carolinas’ rainfall totals.
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Collins reported from South Carolina. Associated Press reporters Russ Bynum in Pooler, Georgia; Bruce Shipkowski in Toms River, New Jersey; Jeff Martin in Atlanta and Lisa Bauman in Bellingham, Washington contributed.
