TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Gov. Ron DeSantis said four deaths on Monday have been attributed to now Tropical Storm Debby, including a double-fatal car crash in Dixie County, a death in a big-rig crash in Hillsborough County and a boy who was killed when a tree fell onto the roof of the family’s home in Levy County.
Hurricane Debby made landfall about 7 a.m. Monday near Steinhatchee as a Category 1 storm, bringing the rural Big Bend region its second hurricane in less than a year.
Debby, which made landfall with maximum sustained winds of 80 mph, slowed down, was downgraded to a tropical storm and turned northeast, before it started meandering across North Florida and Southeast Georgia, with the National Hurricane Center saying it could produce “catastrophic flooding in some locations.”
“We have seen and will continue to see flooding in every part of the state of Florida,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said during a morning news conference at the state Emergency Operations Center.
DeSantis said as of Monday afternoon, 250,000 customers were without power across the state and over 450,000 accounts have been restored since the storm began.
The Florida Division of Emergency Management has completed 435 storm-related missions, and they are currently in the process of completing another 400 more, DeSantis said.
DeSantis said the state is ready to make more flooding rescues after the storm passes as waters rise.
He said Tampa and St. Petersburg ports are closed but are due to open Monday evening and all airports are open.
The storm is expected to move off the southeast U.S. coast late Tuesday and could come back inland over South Carolina on Thursday.
Steinhatchee is in Taylor County, roughly 90 miles south of Tallahassee. On Aug. 30, 2023, Hurricane Idalia made landfall in Taylor County’s Keaton Beach with maximum sustained winds of 125 mph and storm surge of 7 to 12 feet along the coast. Idalia then caused widespread damage as it moved across North Florida.
DeSantis said Debby won’t be as devastating, but huge risks remain.
Debby, potentially a historic rainmaker, started pounding the Gulf Coast on Sunday.
State Division of Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie said the goal is to restore electricity to 80 to 85 percent of customers within 24 to 48 hours.
“We’re going to tackle it,” he said. “It’s going to be all hands on deck going in there to get that power restored.”
Guthrie said more than 35 tornado warnings had been issued in the state, and additional “tornadic activity” will occur as the system moves across North Florida.
“The hazards from this storm will be seen and felt far outside the center of the cone,” Guthrie said, referring to the cone showing the storm’s potential path. “Flood impacts are going to be felt everywhere.”
North Florida and Central Florida could get 10 to 12 inches of rain, which will cause rivers to flood during the next week, Guthrie said.
Part of recovery efforts will include moving resources closer to the Sarasota Bradenton area, which DeSantis said received “a significant amount of water.”
DeSantis said he didn’t anticipate the state will “dent” the more than 11 million bottles of water and 3 million meal rations available.
On Sunday, the White House said President Joe Biden had approved a federal emergency declaration to provide assistance. The declaration authorizes the Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate disaster relief efforts and cover 75 percent of certain storm costs for counties.