Hurricane Debby threatens Florida (representative image)
Tampa: Hurricane Debby is expected to make landfall on Florida’s Big Bend coast on Monday morning, bringing record rainfall, devastating flooding and deadly storm surges. The storm will move slowly across the northern part of the state before stalling off the coast of Georgia and South Carolina. The National Hurricane Center in Miami said Sunday evening that the storm had winds of 120 kilometers per hour. The storm was located about 100 miles west of Tampa and was moving north at 19 kilometers per hour.
Tornado warning also issued
Debby is the fourth Atlantic hurricane of the year, following Tropical Storm Alberto, Hurricane Beryl and Tropical Storm Chris in June. Meteorologists have warned of catastrophic flooding in Florida, South Carolina and Georgia due to heavy rains from Hurricane Debby. The hurricane center said the storm is expected to make landfall in Florida’s Big Bend region around noon Monday, about 26 km south of Tampa. A tornado warning has also been issued for parts of Florida and Georgia until 6 a.m. Monday. The sparsely populated Big Bend region in the Florida Panhandle was also hit last year by Hurricane Idalia, a Category 3 storm.
Stormy waves may rise
Debby is expected to move east from northern Florida and then land on the coast of Georgia and South Carolina, bringing record-breaking rainfall of up to 76 centimetres to the region starting Tuesday. Officials also warned of life-threatening storm surges along Florida’s Gulf Coast, where water levels could be six to ten feet between the Ochlockonee and Suwannee rivers on Monday. “Very heavy rainfall is expected,” said Michael Brennan, director of the hurricane center. “If we get to 30 inches, that would be record-breaking rainfall associated with a tropical cyclone for both Georgia and South Carolina.” (AP)
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