By Blake Wolf, OAN Staff
Monday, August 5, 2024, 11:55 a.m.
Tropical Storm Debby had claimed at least four lives in Florida as of Monday morning.
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Hurricane Debby has now weakened to a tropical storm and made landfall along Florida’s Big Bend coast on Monday.
Hurricane Debby made landfall near the coastal town of Steinhatchee at 7 a.m. Monday before weakening. The Category 1 hurricane had sustained winds of up to 80 mph, could cause widespread flooding, widespread power outages and could also produce deadly storm surges and tornadoes as it moves through the state.
Search and rescue teams were dispatched to areas along the Florida coast affected by Debby.
“A large deployment of the National Guard and Florida Urban Search and Rescue Task Forces 1 and 2 are in the county and have entered the coastal areas of Suwanee and Horseshoe Beach,” Dixie County Fire Rescue said on Facebook.
“This is a life-threatening situation,” the National Hurricane Center warned.
Officials have confirmed two storm-related deaths in Dixie County, Florida.
A 38-year-old woman and a 12-year-old boy were killed Sunday night when their car lost control and struck a guardrail on a highway. Witnesses told authorities that the wet road and bad weather likely contributed to the loss of control.
The other tropical storm fatality was a 13-year-old boy who was killed Monday when a tree fell on a mobile home in Levy County.
“Our hearts and prayers go out to this family as they deal with this tragedy,” the sheriff’s office said. “As we begin to assess the damage and clean up, we ask that everyone please use extreme caution. There are many hazards, including downed power lines and falling trees. The loss of life is too great. Please be careful.”
Slippery conditions also claimed the life of a fourth person when a 64-year-old man driving a tractor-trailer lost control and struck the side barrier, causing the driver’s seat to detach and fall into the Tampa Bypass Canal below.
Divers found the cabin about 40 feet below the surface, with the driver found dead inside.
On Monday, the storm is expected to bring heavy rainfall from Gainesville and Jacksonville, Florida, to Savannah, Georgia, with more than 20 inches of rain expected.
Savannah, Georgia, Mayor Jay Melder said the tropical storm could bring “once-in-a-thousand-year rainfall.”
President Joe Biden was briefed on the severity of Tropical Storm Debby and subsequently approved Florida’s request for a state of emergency.
A White House official said the government was sending rescue workers and needed food and water to those affected.
The Biden administration has been in contact with officials in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina as the storm moves north.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has been aggressively deploying personnel to areas expected to be hit hardest.
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