Hurricane Debby Makes Landfall

Aug 6 / American Red Cross

INFORMATION UPDATE:    

Hurricane Debby Makes Landfall 

August 5, 2024 at 3:00 PM ET  

 

American Red Cross volunteer Ralph Campbell visits Melissa Whitefield of Tallahassee, Florida, as she prepares for the arrival of Hurricane Debby. Ralph had met Melissa in the aftermath of a tornado disaster just a few weeks ago.

 

“Right after the tornado,” Melissa said, “nobody had been in our neighborhood with water, with anything. Everybody was just hot and thirsty and trying to live and check on one another. And then I ran into Ralph, and he said the Red Cross would take care of us—and they did.”

 

During the tornado disaster, Ralph bonded with many people affected as he provided recovery services, recounting “Many of these people have almost nothing pre-disaster, and to be able to help them when they need it most means a lot to me.”
Photo by Jason Colston/American Red Cross

 

Hurricane Debby

This morning, Hurricane Debby made landfall in Florida’s Big Bend region as a high-end category 1 storm, bringing a month’s worth of rainfall, hurricane force winds, flash flooding and tornadoes across the state. Unfortunately, Debby made landfall just 15 miles from where Hurricane Idalia did 11 months ago, meaning many communities still picking up the pieces from last year are again being impacted. As the storm progresses, historic and catastrophic levels of rain are expected in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina.

·         Life-threatening storm surge is possible along portions of Florida's Gulf Coast, where Storm Surge Warnings are in effect. Widespread thunderstorms are likely to continue across Florida and spread into Georgia and the Southeast Coast today.

·         Debby is the fourth named storm of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season after Tropical Storm Alberto, Hurricane Beryl and Tropical Storm Chris, all of which formed in June.

·         Debby sustained winds of 70 mph as she slammed into Steinhatchee – a small community of less than 1,000 individuals in Taylor County – before downgrading to Tropical Storm.

·         While initial hurricane impacts struck less-populated areas, widespread flooding is anticipated to be extremely dangerous. Already, parts of Florida have reported as many as 12 inches in just two hours.

·         Debby is expected to creep through the southeast at a slow, 8 mph pace, with some areas anticipating more than 30 inches of rain total resulting in the National Weather Service using descriptors of “catastrophic” and “historic.”

·         In preparation for this storm, more than 200 Red Cross responders mobilized to pre-position relief supplies and shelters to care for displaced communities. As of 8 p.m. ET yesterday, a ground stop was issued across the area of response to keep all volunteers and families safe as the storm makes impact.

·         Already, more than 260,000 customers are without power in Florida and Georgia as Debby makes landfall. This number is expected to grow significantly in the coming days, accompanied by the dangerous combination of excessive heat warnings.

·         The Red Cross Emergency app processed almost 4,000 NOAA /USGS alerts and sent nearly 8.4 million push notifications to users providing just-in-time safety info in English & Spanish. In Florida alone, the Emergency app processed more than 870 NOAA/USGS alerts and sent nearly 2.3 million push notifications to users providing just-in-time safety info in English & Spanish.

As Hurricane Debby bears down on the Florida coast, the American Red Cross team examines the map to begin preparations to establish evacuations centers in the Tallahassee area. Dozens of Red Cross volunteers from all across the country arrived pre-landfall to provide safe shelter immediately after the storm.

Photo by Jason Colston/American Red Cross

 

Florida

Today, Hurricane Debby made landfall in Florida bringing high winds, heavy rainfall and a life-threatening storm surge. The storm is also on track to impact parts of the southeast including Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina with catastrophic flooding throughout this week.

·         It’s hot and humid in Florida where more than 238,000 customers are without power.

·         The storm made landfall in the state’s Big Bend area where the Florida Panhandle wraps around to the main peninsula.

·         In the big bend of Florida, over 2,600 homes were declared major damaged or destroyed between the tornadoes in May and Hurricane Idalia that was just a year ago. Repetitive loss is much more than a financial challenge.

o    The emotional toll of multiple disasters is also evident as you talk to the people who have lived through them. Nearly 200 residents we are still sheltering from Hurricane Idalia were evacuated once again to a new location in anticipation of Debby's landfall.

o    Housing shortages and other complex barriers are making recovery harder and harder for communities in Florida and across the country.

·         Taylor County community is especially vulnerable, with approximately 20% of its residents 65 years or older, with fixed-income households of less than $47,000. About 15% of all Taylor County residents live below the poverty line.

o     Some residents there are facing the unthinkable, major damage or complete destruction of their home multiple times in less than 12 months.

·         While the hurricane impacts in Taylor County will be highest priority in the hours and days ahead, widespread flood reports from Central Florida – including Sarasota and Manatee County – are bifurcating workforce and resources until additional supplies can arrive.

The American Red Cross is on the ground with over 250 trained volunteers in Florida providing help and comfort for people impacted by Debby.

·         Emergency shelters are open across Florida, with the aid of our partners. Sunday night, the Red Cross supported 14 open shelters, where more than 165 individuals sought refuge.

·         We anticipate shelter locations and the number of people seeking help to evolve over the next few days as the storm crawls north.

o    Shelter support trailers are pre-positioned across North Florida to manage shelters for as many as 1,000 individuals.

·         The Red Cross has emergency response vehicles, and truckloads of ready-to-eat meals and shelter supplies — including cots and blankets — in Florida ready to help people in need.

o    As it is safe to do so, these Emergency Response Vehicles will begin canvassing hard-hit communities to deliver help and hope in the coming days.

·         Red Cross shelters are open to everyone in need, regardless of race, ethnicity, age, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, ability or citizenship status. All disaster assistance is free. 

Estimated rainfall totals as a result of Hurricane Debby are illustrated in the map above, indicating many parts of Georgia and South Carolina may receive upwards of 16 inches of rain over the next 1-5 days.

 

Georgia and South Carolina

As the climate crisis worsens and disasters become more frequent and intense, families are depending on the Red Cross for comfort and support on a nearly continuous basis. In the next 4 days, Hurricane Debby will move into Georgia before reaching open water in the Atlantic and potentially intensifying as it veers back over land in the Carolinas and Virgina.  As many as 30 inches of rain are expected from Savannah, Georgia to Wilmington, North Carolina. Many forecasters are comparing this incoming event to flooding that occurred in this same region in 2015, when localized amounts of 15 to 20 inches fell across mainly the Charleston area. At the time, it was called a 1,000-year flood. Now, 9 years later, these same communities are facing yet another catastrophic flooding disaster.

·         Currently, more than 160 trained Red Cross responders are on the ground in anticipation of Debby’s impact, along with enough supplies and meals to manage over 35 shelters with a total population of 7,000 individuals, if necessary.

o    10 shelter locations have been secured already and are on standby.

·         10 Emergency Response Vehicles are enroute to Georgia and South Carolina to support any needs the expected floods will create.

·         For the next 24 hours, our top priority in Georgia and South Carolina will be community and workforce safety, focusing on safe shelter, warm meals and comfort to anyone displaced by high waters.

·         There are concerns of some communities becoming completely cut off due to significant flooding and inaccessible roadways. High water vehicles are being put on standby to support both in rescue and relief efforts.

·         Additional teams are on the ground in North Carolina, preparing for Debby’s continued movement.

Just as Debby is making landfall along Florida’s Gulf Coast, another Atlantic Disturbance is developing. Currently at 10% chance of cyclone formation in the next 7 days, Disturbance 1 models currently mimic Hurricane Beryl tracks, an early indicator of potential repetitive loss in Texas Gulf Coast.

Source: National Hurricane Center | NOAA

 

Looking Ahead in the Gulf

A new disturbance in the Atlantic could become a tropical depression this week, according to the National Hurricane Center. The disturbance has a 10% chance of forming over the next seven days and environmental conditions are forecast to become even more conducive to cyclone development over warm waters in southwestern Atlantic. Across the Southeast and Caribbean, especially in the Texas Gulf Coast, Red Cross teams are in close coordination with state and county emergency management monitoring the incoming threat.

 

With hundreds of trained Red Crossers still on the ground across several states responding to continuous needs caused by Hurricane Beryl, additional volunteers are raising their hands to support communities that may be impacted by this next storm system.

 

SOCIAL MEDIA 

 

 

 

In preparation for Hurricane Debby, Red Cross teams are coordinating with our emergency partners, moving in supplies for shelters and feeding, organizing teams to open and run shelters, and readying our fleet to move in and provide support

 

 

 

Scores of Red Cross responders – the vast majority of whom are volunteers – are deploying across the southeast to support Hurricane Debby relief and recovery efforts. Join us!

 

 

 

 

Hurricane Debby is expected to bring widespread, catastrophic flooding to much of the Southeast. Please be prepared, download the Red Cross Emergency App now!

 

 

Hurricane Debby is predicted to bring potentially historic, heavy rainfall across South Carolina through Friday morning. This may mean areas of catastrophic flooding. Follow flood safety tips here!

 

 Please let me know if there are any unmet needs or if assistance is needed in connecting with a Red Cross representative at the local level.

 

Have a great week