Gov. Ron DeSantis warned of flooding statewide from Tropical Storm Debby, which is expected to make landfall as a hurricane Monday in the Big Bend region close to Tallahassee.
Appearing at a Sunday morning news conference at the state Emergency Operations Center, DeSantis said people in the potential path of Debby should finalize preparations for what will be a “major event” that will have “significant impacts across the state.”
“This is a big storm. I mean, you're going to have rain that's going to be far beyond the center of the storm,” DeSantis said. “So, just prepare for that. Just because you're not in the eye of the storm does not mean you are not going to have major impacts.”
President Joe Biden approved an emergency declaration that will provide federal assistance to supplement the state’s efforts with Debby, the White House announced Sunday morning. Biden authorized the Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate efforts.
State Division of Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie said Debby has a 1-in-3 chance of rapid intensification before landfall. The National Hurricane Center said Sunday morning the storm was in the Gulf of Mexico about 200 miles south-southwest of Tampa and had 50 mph sustained winds.
The storm is forecast to make landfall with maximum sustained winds between 74 mph and 95 mph, a Category 1 system on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, but it could strengthen into a Category 2 hurricane.
Up to 18 inches of rain are forecast for areas of North Florida.
The private meteorology company AccuWeather reported conditions should help the storm grow, with water temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico historically “well above” average.
AccuWeather meteorologists noted flooding issues started to be reported Saturday night in South Florida and warned of potentially life-threatening storm surge that could reach 6 feet to 10 feet.
“This storm is going to make for a dangerous and long week for people in parts of the southeastern United States,” AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jon Porter said in a statement. “Please do not be lulled into any false sense of security that Debby is presently rated as a tropical storm on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.”
The Big Bend region in August 2023 was hit by Hurricane Idalia, which made landfall in Taylor County and caused widespread damage in other rural areas of North Florida. Also, tornadoes caused severe damage May 10 in parts of Tallahassee.
Utilities across the state have 17,000 linemen prepared to begin restoring electricity after the storm has cleared, DeSantis said. That includes restoring power in Tallahassee and other areas with municipal utilities.
“Mutual aid crews from other utilities are pre-positioned to assist with restoration of outages that may occur as a result of Tropical Storm Debby as soon as conditions are safe,” Florida Municipal Electric Association Executive Director Amy Zubaly, the mutual-aid coordinator for Florida’s 33 municipal utilities, said in a statement.
Duke Energy Florida said Saturday it had mobilized more than 3,000 workers to respond to potential outages. That includes crews from Duke Energy’s operations in Kentucky and Ohio.
DeSantis said 3,000 Florida National Guard members are prepared to help with work such as search-and-rescue efforts, clearing debris from roads and distributing food and water.
The Department of Transportation, which had already started to clear roads, had 1,200 generators on standby to maintain traffic signals.