At least five people have died in the United States after Hurricane Debby caused flooding and left more than 200,000 buildings without electricity in the states of Florida and Georgia.
C. Verlyn Brock, the Colquitt County, Georgia, coroner, said Monday that Debby’s wind gusts of 75 miles per hour were caused a tree to fall on a housein the town of Moultrie, killing a 19-year-old man, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
A 13-year-old boy died Monday morning after a tree fell on a mobile home southwest of Gainesville, Florida, according to the Levy County Sheriff’s Office.
Also on Monday morning, the driver of a heavy-duty vehicle died on a Tampa-area highway after losing control of the trailer, causing the vehicle to fall.
East of Steinhatchee, a small community in northern Florida near where Debby made landfall, a 38-year-old woman and a 12-year-old boy were killed Sunday night when their car struck the center divider and then went off the road.
A 14-year-old boy who was riding as a passenger was hospitalized with serious injuries, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
Some 500 people were rescued from flooded houses in Sarasota, Florida, a coastal city popular as a tourist destination, local police said Monday on social media.
“We basically had twice the amount of rain that was forecast,” said Sarasota County Fire Chief David Rathbun.
North of Sarasota, Manatee County officials said in a statement that 186 people were rescued from the floods.
“We are facing an unprecedented climate event“said Manatee Public Safety Director Jodie Fiske.
The White House said on Monday that US President Donald Trump has Joe Biden approved a request from the governor of South CarolinaHenry McMaster, declare a state of emergencyafter having already approved a similar request from Florida.
In a statement, the Office of the President said personnel from the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security, the Army Corps of Engineers and the Coast Guard are moving to the region and are prepared to support recovery efforts.
The Governor of North CarolinaRoy Cooper, declared a state of emergency on Monday.
North Carolina emergency management officials said andFlooding and power outages are expected starting Tuesday. and for the rest of the week.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis had already declared a state of emergency for 61 of Florida’s 67 counties, and the National Guard deployed three members.
the governor of georgiaBrian Kemp, too declared state of emergency.
Debby is the fourth tropical storm to form in the Atlantic basin this season.which began on June 1st.
So far, Alberto, Beryl and Chris have formed, the second of which has become a Category 5 hurricane, the highest on the Saffir-Simpson intensity scale.
Source: Observadora
