Tropical Storm Debby drenched coastal cities in Georgia and South Carolina, submerging streets with waist-high floodwaters Tuesday in what is just the beginning of a prolonged storm that could dump staggering totals up to 64 centimeters (25 inches) of rain.
Charleston and Savannah took the first blow, with up to 30 centimeters (12 inches) of rain falling along the coast between the two cities in just over 24 hours. Police blocked all the roads into Charleston's downtown peninsula as a precaution. Dozens of roads were closed in the historic city because of flooding similar to what it sees several times a year because of rising sea levels.
As Debby swirls just offshore, the heavy rain is expected to move north into parts of South Carolina and North Carolina that have already seen two billion-dollar floods in eight years.
In one Savannah neighborhood, firefighters used boats Tuesday afternoon to evacuate residents and waded in waist-deep floodwaters to deliver bottled water and supplies to others who refused to leave.
Resident Michael Jones said downpours sent water gushing into his home Monday evening, overturning his refrigerator and causing furniture to float. Outside, the water seemed to be everywhere and was too deep to flee safely. So Jones spent a sleepless night on his kitchen table before firefighters going door-to-door came to his home in a boat Tuesday morning.
"It was hell all night," Jones said. He added: "It was a struggle, but God is good."
Officials in Charleston continued a curfew, closing all roads into the downtown peninsula and letting only essential workers and emergency personnel pass through. Mayor William Cogswell said the move meant the city hadn't had to do any high-water rescues and kept businesses and homes from unnecessary damage.
"We especially don't need any yahoos driving through the water and causing damage to properties," Cogswell said.
South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster said Debby hasn't yet been as bad as feared, but he warned residents that the slow-moving storm was far from over.
It will be a nervous few days for northern South Carolina and southern North Carolina where forecasters warned that up to 38 centimeters (15 inches) of rain could fall. Those totals are close to what the region saw in a historic flood from Hurricane Matthew in 2016. Two years later, rain and flooding from Hurricane Florence broke many of those records. Both storms killed dozens.
North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper declared a state of emergency Monday, and Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin declared the same for his state on Tuesday.
The storm was expected to slowly move out to sea, then reverse and creep back onshore Thursday near Charleston.
Green Pond in rural Colleton County, South Carolina, reported the most rain so far from Debby with just over 36 centimeters (14 inches).
Close to 30 centimeters (12 inches) of rain was reported down the coast from Charleston to Savannah, where the National Weather Service reported 17 centimeters (6.68 inches) of rainfall just on Monday. That's a month's worth of rain in a single day: In August 2023, the city got 14.1 centimeters (5.56 inches) of rain.
Debby made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane early Monday along the Gulf Coast of Florida. At least five people have died due to the storm, either in traffic accidents or from fallen trees.
About 500 people were rescued Monday from flooded homes in Sarasota, Florida, a beach city popular with tourists, the local police department said. Just north of Sarasota, Manatee County officials said 186 people were rescued.
State officials said it may be two weeks before staff can fully assess storm damage in parts of north central Florida, as they wait for river levels there to crest.
More than 155,000 customers remained without power in Florida and Georgia on Tuesday morning, down from more than 350,000, according to PowerOutage.us and Georgia Electric Membership Corp. More than 20,000 others were without power in South Carolina early Tuesday.
President Joe Biden approved emergency declarations making federal disaster assistance available to Florida, Georgia and South Carolina.
