Tampa: Hurricane ‘Debby’ is expected to reach Florida’s Big Bend coast on Monday morning, which is expected to bring record rainfall, devastating floods and deadly storm waves. This storm will slowly move in the northern part of the state before stopping in the coastal areas of Georgia and South Carolina. The National Hurricane Center in Miami said on Sunday evening that this storm is causing winds of 120 kilometers per hour. The storm was located about 100 miles west of Tampa and is moving north at a speed of 19 kilometers per hour.
Tornado warning also issued
Debby is the fourth Atlantic hurricane of this year. Earlier in June, tropical storm Alberto, hurricane Beryl and tropical storm Chris came. Meteorologists have warned of catastrophic floods in Florida, South Carolina and Georgia due to heavy rains from Hurricane Debby. The hurricane center said the storm is expected to reach Florida’s Big Bend region around noon on Monday, about 26 kilometers south of Tampa. A tornado warning has also been issued for parts of Florida and Georgia until 6 a.m. on Monday. The sparsely populated Big Bend region in the Florida Panhandle was also affected last year by Hurricane Idalia, a Category-3 storm.
Storm waves may rise
Debby is expected to move eastward from northern Florida and then stop in coastal areas of Georgia and South Carolina. This could bring record-breaking rainfall of up to 76 centimeters in the region from Tuesday. Officials have also warned of life-threatening storm waves on Florida’s Gulf coast, where water levels between the Ochlockonee and Suwannee rivers could be six to ten feet on Monday. Hurricane Center Director Michael Brennan said, “Very heavy rain is expected. “If we reach 30 inches, this would be record-breaking rainfall from a tropical cyclone for both Georgia and South Carolina.”
