© AP/Stephen B. MortonSavannah Fire Advanced Firefighters Andrew Stevenson, front, and Ron Strauss carry food to residents in the Tremont Park neighborhood that where stranded in flooding from Tropical Storm Debby, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, in Savannah, Ga.
Charleston and Savannah, Georgia, took the first blow, with up to a foot (30 centimeters) of rain falling along the coast between the two cities in just over 24 hours. Police blocked all roads into Charleston's downtown peninsula to everyone but essential workers and emergency personnel. Dozens of roads were closed in the historic city because of flooding similar to what it sees several times a year because of rising sea levels.
As Debby swirls just offshore, the heavy rain is expected to move north into parts of South and North Carolina that have already seen two billion-dollar floods in eight years.
In one Savannah neighborhood, firefighters used boats to evacuate some residents and waded through floodwaters to deliver bottled water and other supplies to those who refused to leave.
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster said Debby has not been as bad as feared so far, but he warned that the slow-moving storm was far from over.
It will be a nervous few days for northern South Carolina and southern North Carolina, where forecasters warned of up to 15 inches (38 centimeters) of rain. Those totals are close to what the region saw in a historic flood from Hurricane Matthew in 2016. Two years later, many of those records were broken during Hurricane Florence. Both storms killed dozens.
North Carolina and Virginia have both declared a state of emergency.
"The effects of Debby are far-reaching, and our neighboring states are facing significant challenges," Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin said.
Several areas along North Carolina's coastline are prone to flooding, such as Wilmington and the Outer Banks. Virginia could see impacts including strong winds, heavy rains and flooding.
Debby's center was about 30 miles (50 kilometers southeast of Savannah on Tuesday night, according to a bulletin from the National Hurricane Center. It had maximum sustained winds of 40 mph (65 kph) and was heading east-northeast at 3 mph (6 kph).
The storm was forecast to slowly move out to sea, then creep back onshore over South Carolina on Thursday morning.
"Tropical cyclones always produce heavy rain, but normally as they're moving, you know, it doesn't accumulate that much in one place," said Richard Pasch, of the hurricane center. "But when they move very slowly, that's the worst situation."
There will be lulls in the rain as dry spells appear between bands around the center of the poorly organized storm, forecasters said. But some bands will be heavy and keep moving over the same places.
Green Pond in rural Colleton County, South Carolina, reported the most rain so far, just over 14 inches (36 centimeters). A nearby dam had water run over its top but did not crumble, while trees and washouts blocked a number of roads, county Fire-Rescue Assistant Chief David Greene said.
Close to a foot (30 centimeters) fell down-coast from Charleston to Savannah, where the National Weather Service reported 6.68 inches (17 centimeters) just on Monday. That's already a month's worth in a single day: In all of August 2023, the city got 5.56 inches (14.1 centimeters).
Tornadoes knocked down trees and damaged a few homes on Kiawah Island and Edisto Island. A Walmart, an Arby's and other businesses were damaged and several vehicles flipped in Moncks Corner, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) inland from Charleston.
Reader Comments
to our Newsletter