Debby expected to cause flooding across North Florida

State Government

TALLAHASSEE — Tropical Storm Debby is expected to cause flooding across North Florida as it brings more water than the much-stronger Hurricane Idalia, which followed a similar path last year, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Sunday.

Debby is forecast to rapidly strengthen into a hurricane before making landfall Monday morning somewhere in the Big Bend region south of Tallahassee. DeSantis said time was running out for residents to make final plans for the storm.

“This is a similar path to what we saw last year with Hurricane Idalia,” DeSantis said during an afternoon news conference at the state Emergency Operations Center in Tallahassee. “It is going to be much wetter. We're going to see much more inundation across, really, across northern parts of the state. North of I-4 (Interstate 4), particularly in North Central Florida, you're going to have the potential for some significant flooding that creates risks and hazards.”

Debby is forecast to make landfall with maximum sustained winds between 74 and 95 mph, a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, but it could grow into a Category 2 storm and meander over North Florida before heading into other parts of the southern U.S.

Idalia made landfall Aug. 30 near Taylor County's Keaton Beach as a Category 3 storm and caused widespread damage as it crossed through other largely rural areas of North Florida.

The National Hurricane Center warned Sunday that Debby continued to intensify over the warm waters of the eastern Gulf of Mexico, with maximum sustained winds of 65 mph.

“The cyclone will weaken after it moves inland, but since the system will not be far from the coastline for the next few days, it is not predicted to fall below tropical storm strength through 72 hours,” the hurricane center said in an update.

Flooding from the storm is expected to continue throughout the week, with life-threatening storm surge along parts of the Gulf Coast between the Ochlockonee River and Suwannee River, according to the center.

State Division of Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie said impacts, caused by several feet of storm surge, were already being felt along the coast. Guthrie said storm surge could top 6 feet in some areas.

“If you're in Northeast Florida, North Central Florida, you still have some time, but those hours are starting to wane,” Guthrie said.

The state’s utilities have positioned 17,000 linemen to handle power outages, DeSantis said. That includes crews prepared to help restore electricity in areas, such as Tallahassee, served by municipal utilities. Also, Duke Energy Florida said it had mobilized more than 3,000 workers to respond to potential outages, including crews from Duke Energy’s operations in Kentucky and Ohio.

The state has also activated 100 members of the Florida State Guard, with 3,000 members of the Florida National Guard on standby.

Six assisted-living facilities and two nursing homes had reported evacuations, according to information released Sunday afternoon by DeSantis’ office.