As Tropical Storm Debby remains parked over southeast Georgia’s coast, state emergency management officials cautiously said Tuesday morning that the threat of severe flooding is mostly over.
“I do think that the catastrophic threat has now shifted more into South Carolina,” Chris Stallings, director of the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency, said during a news conference Tuesday.
However, he cautioned that with more rain still expected, areas like Savannah could see totals similar to the 17 inches of rain that Hurricane Matthew dumped over the city in 2016.
“That’s more in line with what we’re thinking for our worst-case scenario at this point, and we’re already halfway there. So if we do see that storm track further inland over the next couple of days, we could start to approach that level,” he said.
Metro Atlantans on Tuesday can expect to stay mostly dry with cloudy skies and breezy conditions with gusts between 20-30 mph. The high today will be about 90 degrees in the city, and there should be a little clearing this afternoon as the eye of the storm moves up the South Carolina coast.
The storm has claimed at least five lives, including one in Georgia, since it made landfall in Steinhatchee, Florida, at 7 a.m. Monday as a Category 1 hurricane. It was downgraded to a tropical storm soon after that, and its track is pushing it up the Atlantic Coast into New England by the end of the week.
Credit: Miguel Martinez
Credit: Miguel Martinez
Soon after Debby made landfall Monday morning, a 13-year-old boy was crushed to death when a tree fell on a home in the small Gulf Coast town of Fanning Springs, Florida. In the Tampa area, a 64-year-old semi-truck driver was killed when his vehicle went into a canal, and three hours north, in Dixie County, a 38-year-old woman and a 12-year-old boy were killed in a crash Sunday night when flooded roads caused the vehicle to lose control.
In Georgia, a 19-year-old man died around 3:40 p.m. Monday when a large tree fell onto a side porch at a home in Moultrie, about 40 miles northwest of Valdosta. He was the first reported death in Georgia from Debby and was identified as Derrien Bernard Razz by the Colquitt County coroner.
“(It’s) just heartbreaking,” Gov. Brian Kemp told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution about the loss of life. “That’s the thing about these storms. It’s just such — you know, just got them in our thoughts and prayers. I know it’s devastating for that family.”
While Georgia’s “catastrophic” flood threat may be dwindling, the National Hurricane Center continues warning of the tremendous amounts of rain and dangerous storm surges along the southeast coast from north Florida to North Carolina on Tuesday. With the storm moving at just 6 mph, some areas between southeast Georgia and southeast North Carolina could see between 10 to 20 inches of rain by Friday, the NHC predicts.
As of late Tuesday morning, the eye of the slow-moving storm was stationed just north of McRae-Helena, the small county seat of Telfair County, with sustained winds of about 40 mph, according to the NHC. It is predicted to drift offshore tonight and continue its drift through early Thursday before moving inland over South Carolina that day.
Debby did not drop the forecasted deluge on Savannah and other coastal communities. It weakened overnight, and the heavy rainfall is now well north and east of the storm’s center.
Myrtle Beach and other areas along the South Carolina coast north of Charleston are projected to see 12 to 20 inches of rain in the days ahead. Steady rain fell in Savannah on Monday, with some neighborhoods recording up to 10 inches. Today’s forecast calls for 2 to 3 inches more this afternoon, although it will fall during an outgoing tide, allowing the area’s many waterways to drain. The remaining threat to Savannah residents is the potential for wind gusts to drop water-logged trees, or at least limbs, onto homes and property.
Less than 12 hours after the storm swept through St. Simons Island, activity had resumed at the popular vacation spot. On Tuesday morning, the area showed little signs of flooding or damage, apart from occasional fallen branches and yards and streets littered with twigs.
Despite red warning lights indicating high hazard at East Beach and Gould’s Inlet, a few surfers and boogie boarders took to the choppy waters in the hopes of catching waves while plenty of walkers and joggers resumed their morning beach exercise routine.
Under gray skies and breezy conditions, Rulong and Becky VanDyke of Suwanee sat on a bench at Neptune Park overlooking St. Simons Sound. The couple arrived Saturday for a weeklong family vacation. Monday’s downpour was their first experience waiting out a tropical storm, but it left them unfazed.
“I closed my eyes and turned off the lights,” Becky said.
On the north side of Homerville, about 35 miles east of Valdosta, George Smith, 67, hung a massive American flag in front of the camper trailer where he lives. Just a day earlier, pine trees clipped power lines and heavy rain briefly flooded yards.
“It wasn’t that bad,” Smith said.
In Valdosta, “we are in cleanup and recovery now. We’ve got our crews cleaning trees off roads and checking the roads,” said Meghan Barwick, spokesperson for the Lowndes County Emergency Management Agency.
According to the Georgia Ports Authority in a Tuesday morning update, the Port of Savannah’s terminals are closed, but cargo handling equipment and facilities are “in good shape” after the storm.
The Port of Savannah’s Garden City Terminal is set to reopen at 6 a.m. Wednesday, while the Ocean Terminal will reopen at 8 a.m. The Port of Brunswick’s terminals are also closed Tuesday, with the Colonels Island terminal set to reopen with normal hours Wednesday, and the Mayor’s Point Terminal set to reopen at 7 a.m.
”Ports are closed right now — Brunswick, Savannah, Charleston,” Kemp said. “And from what Stallings was saying, Charleston is probably going to be closed for a while. They’re getting a lot of rain right now, but that’s what we’ll continue to work with the Coast Guard on.”
Emergency shelters at the Savannah Civic Center and Enmarket Arena served about 30 residents displaced by the storm. The facility has served as a hurricane emergency shelter for decades. An additional 45 residents were housed in another shelter at the Tompkins Regional Center, located on the city’s western edge.
Some of the cities expected to see flooding from Debby have had flights canceled. More than 40 flights to or from Charleston have been canceled for Tuesday, along with about 30 flights to or from Savannah and more than 20 flights to or from Charlotte, according to FlightAware.com as of Tuesday morning at about 9 a.m.
Overall, there are far fewer flight cancellations so far for Tuesday compared with Monday, when hundreds of flights were canceled at major airports in Florida.
Credit: Miguel Martinez
Credit: Miguel Martinez
With so much rain falling in parts of Georgia that have already seen an exceptionally wet July, flooding remains a major threat and so is the potential for more falling trees and powerlines as the storm continues to have sustained wind speeds of 45 mph.
On Tuesday morning, at least 16,000 Georgia Power customers were without electricity, as were 33,000 customers of rural electrical membership cooperatives (EMCs). Residents in South Georgia from Valdosta to St. Simons Island spent Monday loading up on generators and other supplies in anticipation of extended outages.
Kemp has issued a state of emergency and signed an emergency order authorizing the call-up of as many as 2,000 Georgia National Guard troops to help with any disaster relief efforts.
By Monday evening, President Joe Biden approved a federal emergency declaration, ordering assistance to supplement those efforts.
In South Georgia, the storm has caused angst among farmers who have already weathered a number of disasters in recent years.
Last year’s Hurricane Idalia battered many of the same areas in Debby’s path, leaving fields of cotton a twisted mess and downing hundreds of pecan trees with its 90-mph winds. The pecan industry, especially, had already been struggling since the Trump administration kicked off a trade war with China, previously a large export market for Georgia’s nuts.
Tropical storm watches and warnings remain in effect for the Georgia and South Carolina coasts Tuesday.
Even in parts of Florida and Georgia where the storm has already passed, deadly hazards are still a concern, the NHC warns. That includes downed powerlines and flooded areas.
Do not drive into water that appears shallow. The water can be much deeper than expected, and currents could be swift enough to sweep vehicles from the road. If you’re having to use a generator for power, ensure that it is properly ventilated to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning, the NHC cautions.
Additionally, heat exhaustion is a concern for those helping with storm cleanup efforts. Stay hydrated and take breaks to cool down when outdoors.
Credit: Miguel Martinez
Credit: Miguel Martinez
— Staff writers Kelly Yamanouchi, Ligaya Figueras, Adam Van Brimmer and Joe Kovac Jr. contributed to this article.
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