Florida dealing with flooding issues, power outages after Debby’s landfall

Parts of north Florida are cleaning up the mess left by Debby after the storm made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane early Monday.

Around 110,000 people remained without power in the state as a result of Debby, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said at a news conference Tuesday morning.

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Around 600,000 accounts have been restored and around 17,000 linemen were working to restore power to the rest, DeSantis said.

DeSantis called the power outages "significant" and said in Jefferson County, around 99% of the county was without power.

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DeSantis spoke in the small community of Steinhatchee, where Debby made landfall as Category 1 hurricane. It’s not far from where Hurricane Idalia made landfall less than a year ago as a Category 3 storm.

Florida's Department of Emergency Management has made nearly 1,000 storm-related missions and was expected to make at least 500 more as Debby caused significant flooding to some areas, DeSantis said Tuesday.

Boating docks float in the storm surge as Hurricane Debby makes landfall in Steinhatchee, Florida, US, on Monday, Aug. 5, 2024. Hurricane Debby slammed into Florida southeast of Tallahassee as a Category 1 storm after intensifying over warm waters, the latest evidence that this will be a robust season for tropical cyclones. Photographer: Christian Monterrosa/Bloomberg

About 500 people were rescued from flooded homes in Sarasota, the Sarasota Police Department said Monday in a social media post.

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“Essentially we’ve had twice the amount of the rain that was predicted for us to have,” Sarasota County Fire Chief David Rathbun said in a social media update.

Just north of Sarasota, officials in Manatee County said in a news release that 186 people were rescued from flood waters.

Members of local law enforcement and fire rescue crews clear fallen trees from the road as Hurricane Debby makes landfall in Steinhatchee, Florida, US, on Monday, Aug. 5, 2024. Hurricane Debby slammed into Florida southeast of Tallahassee as a Category 1 storm after intensifying over warm waters, the latest evidence that this will be a robust season for tropical cyclones. Photographer: Christian Monterrosa/Bloomberg

“We are facing an unprecedented weather event with Hurricane Debby,” said Jodie Fiske, Manatee County's public safety director. “The safety of our residents is our top priority, and we are doing everything in our power to respond effectively to this crisis.”

Four people had died due to the storm in Florida as of Monday night, including a tractor trailer driver who lost control on Interstate 75 in the Tampa area, flipping over a concrete wall and dangling over the edge before the cab dropped into the water below. Sheriff’s office divers located the body of the 64-year-old man from Mississippi in the cab, 40 feet below the surface, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

A 13-year-old boy died when a tree fell on a mobile home southwest of Gainesville, Florida, and in Dixie County, near where Debby made landfall, a 38-year-old woman and a 12-year-old boy died in a car crash on wet roads.