At least four deaths in Florida have been linked to Hurricane Debby which reached the Big Bend coast of Florida early Monday, bringing with it the potential for catastrophic flooding and life-threatening storm surge as it slowly passed over the northern part of the state.
The storm made landfall around 7 a.m. as a Category 1 storm near Steinhatchee, a tiny community in northern Florida of less than 1,000 residents on Florida’s Gulf Coast.
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The storm made landfall in one of the least populated areas of Florida, but forecasters warned heavy rain could spawn catastrophic flooding in Florida, South Carolina and Georgia.
Storm surge was expected to be the biggest threat for Florida, with 6 to 10 feet of inundation above ground level predicted in part of the zone near the Big Bend, according to John Cangialosi, a hurricane specialist with the National Hurricane Center.
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“That part of the coast is a very vulnerable spot,” he said Monday.
Some areas, including Sarasota and Manatee counties, have already received 10 to 12 inches of rain.
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“We expect to have several rivers and streams go into major flood stage," said Kevin Guthrie, the state’s director of emergency management.
At a news conference Monday afternoon, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said at least four deaths have been linked to Debby.
Two people were killed in a crash in Dixie County while one person was killed in a crash in Hillsborough County, DeSantis said.
In Levy County, officials said a tree fell over onto a mobile home, crushing and killing a 13-year-old boy who was inside.
Around 250,000 customers were without power in Florida on Monday morning, while around 450,000 accounts had been restored, DeSantis said.
In Marion County, which is inland and south of Gainesville, sheriff’s officials noted in a Facebook post Monday that crews were responding to reports of downed power lines and trees that have fallen on roadways and homes.
DeSantis said some 17,000 linemen are working to restore electricity. He warned residents in affected areas to sit tight until conditions are safe.
“When the water rises, when you have streets that can be flooded, that’s hazardous,” DeSantis said. “Don’t try to drive through this. We don’t want to see traffic fatalities adding up. Don’t tempt fate, don’t try to go through these flooded streets."
In Union County, some roads were already under water and numerous trees and powerlines were down. The Union County Sheriff’s Office said Monday that residents were cleaning up from a tornado that touched down in the county Sunday night, damaging at least one home. No injuries were reported.
Hurricane Debby has followed a track “very similar to Idalia 11 months ago,” DeSantis said. Idalia came ashore near Keaton Beach, Florida on Aug. 30, 2023, with maximum sustained winds of 125 mph. Keaton Beach is about 20 miles north of Steinhatchee. He noted there were fewer power outages with Debby.
Images posted on social media by Cedar Key Fire Rescue early Monday showed floodwaters rising along the streets of the city, located south of where the storm made landfall. Water was "coming in at a pretty heavy pace,” the post said.
In Live Oak, the roof of a warehouse was partially torn off, as pieces of metal from the structure were scattered on the street. Police were also blocking off several roads that had been flooded.
Crews from all over the state responded to help out, including Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, who sent around 50 personnel including rescue specialists, K-9 search teams, engineers and medical workers.
Officials in Venice posted photos of a roadway left damaged by the hurricane.
“Right now, we are to trying secure everything from floating away,” said Sheryl Horne, whose family owns the Shell Island Fish Camp along the Wakulla River in St. Marks, Florida, where some customers moved their boats inland.
The sparsely populated Big Bend region in the Florida Panhandle also was hit last year by Hurricane Idalia, which made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane.
“I am used to storms and I’m used to cleaning up after storms,” Horne said.
“We’re all hanging on here - a bunch of us stayed,” Dawn Perez said Monday by phone, as the eyewall of Hurricane Debby bore down on her home in the small town of Perry, Florida. Perez, the director of the town’s tourism department, said she has a new roof after Hurricane Idalia tore it apart in August 2023.
“The winds are intense – I’ve already lost my porch door and a tree, and stuff is blowing all over the place,” Perez said.
Debby is the fourth named storm of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season after Tropical Storm Alberto, Hurricane Beryl and Tropical Storm Chris, all of which formed in June.
