TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Hurricane Debby reached the Big Bend coast of Florida early Monday, bringing with it the potential for record-setting rains, catastrophic flooding and life-threatening storm surge as it moves slowly across the northern part of the state before stalling over the coastal regions of Georgia and South Carolina.
The storm made landfall as a Category 1 storm near Steinhatchee, a tiny community in northern Florida of less than 1,000 residents on Florida’s Gulf Coast. It had maximum sustained winds of 80 mph (129 kph) and was moving northeast at 10 mph (17 kph), the National Hurricane Center in Miami said.
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. Nearly 214,000 customers were without power in Florida on Monday morning, according to PowerOutage.com.
A tornado watch also was in effect for parts of Florida and Georgia on Monday.
“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.
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For more on hurricane season and the utility industry, see how Duke Energy is strengthening the grid, ask yourself if you are making these heat related illness mistakes, and make sure you are stocked up on the must haves for storm season.
