Tropical Storm Debby made a second landfall in South Carolina on Thursday, knocking out power to more than 131,000 North Carolina homes and businesses while also causing widespread flooding. Rain from Debby is being blamed for the deaths of at least six people — four in Florida, including two children, and the others in Georgia and North Carolina.
The National Hurricane Center said Debby came ashore near Bulls Bay, South Carolina. Debby was expected to drop an additional 3 to 6 inches of rain — with locally higher amounts — across parts of southeastern North Carolina, brining storm total amounts to as high as 15 inches, the hurricane center said.
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper put a state of emergency into effect, and said in a statement: “We expect this storm to continue its slow, gradual approach, bringing multiple days of heavy rainfall and the potential for widespread and severe flash flooding.” According to the governor’s office, more than 350 soldiers and airmen from the North Carolina National Guard have been mobilized, including swift water rescue teams on standby. Other possible impacts include tornadoes as flash floods, overflowing rivers and storm surges.
According to poweroutage.us, 131,948 customers were without power in North Carolina, and in South Carolina 8,406 were without power. The heaviest outages in North Carolina were concentrated in Mecklenburg County, with significant outages in Chatam, Gaston and Forsyth counties. Downed trees and flooding have blocked roads and taken down power lines in the Charlotte area.
The National Hurricane Center said in a statement: “The combination of storm surge and tide will cause normally dry areas near the coast to be flooded by rising waters moving inland from the shoreline. Debby is expected to produce an additional 3 to 6 inches of rainfall with locally higher amounts, across portions of southeastern North Carolina leading to maximum storm total amounts as high as 15 inches.”
The storm is expected to keep moving inland, spreading heavy rain and possible flooding all the way up through the mid-Atlantic and the Northeast by the weekend. Debby was on its way up the East Coast and is expected to weaken and become a tropical depression, according to forecasters. Residents as far north as Vermont are forecast to get several inches of rain this weekend.
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