By: Valentina Cheng

Citizens in Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina are all suffering from Hurricane Debby. Orlando Mayorquin, a reporter for The New York Times, and Judson Jones, a meteorologist who also works as a reporter, informed that the life-threatening storm Debby has caused officials to open shelters and emergency resources in Georgia, Florida, and South Carolina.

As of Monday, August 5, Debby had crashed into Florida with large winds and violent rain, causing 4 deaths. The hurricane threatens to cause dangerous flooding in low-lying regions along the Eastern Seaboard and poses a risk to some of the most “historically significant Southern cities,” as stated in APNews.

The state government deployed around 3,000 National Guard members to support the response for Hurricane Debby. Officials urged attention to evacuation orders and plans for power outages, as 15 counties have already issued mandatory evacuations.

According to forecasts, Hurricane Debby was predicted to bring 6 to 12 inches of rain to Florida over the week. Georgia and South Carolina were expected to receive large amounts of rainfall. Florida’s rainfall has already reached 30 inches on Wednesday, the 7th.

Governor Brian P. Kemp declared Georgia in “a state of emergency” on Saturday, as the storm was expected to hit them on Tuesday, per the NYT.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted that the numbers of the 2024 Atlantic storm season will exceed average storms. In May, they predicted 17 to 25 storms for the Atlantic hurricane season (usually June 1 to November 30). Debby is the 4th storm so far.

The first three were Alberto, Beryl, and Chris, which all made landfall in Mexico. Alberto left at least 4 people dead, and Beryl, which only formed one week after Albetro, was named the fastest Category 5 storm ever recorded.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/04/weather/florida-tropical-storm-debby.html