Tropical storm Debby has ravaged the Carolinas, with Charleston officials warning of unprecedented flooding as streets turned to rivers.
The weather system was swirling over coastal Georgia and Carolinas on Wednesday, its wide bands of rain swelling inland waterways before it slowly marches north.
Debby was expected to re-strengthen a little and turn north toward the South Carolina coastline before its center makes a second landfall late Wednesday or early Thursday, weather officials said.
The meandering storm — moving forward at just 4 mph Wednesday morning — has already drenched coastal cities in Georgia and South Carolina with more than a foot of rain in places, stirring up tornadoes and submerging streets with waist-high floodwaters.
Charleston and Savannah, Georgia, were deluged Monday and Tuesday, and Charleston imposed a curfew in its downtown peninsula that lasted 32 hours before it was lifted Wednesday. Dozens of roads were closed because of flooding similar to what the city sees several times a year now because of rising sea levels.
Mayor Williams Cogswell said the closures avoided the need for water rescues and kept ‘yahoos’ from damaging properties by driving through flooded streets and pushing water over sandbags.
Footage posted to social media shows Charleston’s streets submerged, with trash cans floating in the water, and flooded businesses.
But the storm’s core was surrounded by drier air and the worst rainfall was falling hundreds of miles to the north, into eastern North Carolina before spreading into southeast Virginia. Both declared a state of emergency.
Forecasters warned 5 inches of rain could fall from South Carolina to Vermont through this weekend.
The area of most concern Wednesday was in southeastern North Carolina, where Hurricane Matthew caused a historic billion-dollar flood in 2016. Two years later, many of those records were broken during Hurricane Florence. Both storms killed dozens.
The National Weather Service warned up to 9 inches of rain could fall west of Wilmington, North Carolina, in areas that already saw heavy rains overnight.
Debby’s center was about 90 miles east of Savannah on Wednesday morning, according to a bulletin from the National Hurricane Center. It had maximum sustained winds of 45 mph.
Green Pond in rural Colleton County, South Carolina, reported the most rain so far, just over 14 inches . A nearby dam had water run over its top but did not crumble, while trees and washouts blocked a number of roads, county Fire-Rescue Assistant Chief David Greene said.
Far to the north in New York City, heavy storms that meteorologists said were being enhanced by Debby flooded some streets and expressways, stranding motorists. The weather service issued a flood watch until noon Wednesday for the entire city.
Emergency officials warned of potential flash flooding, flying drones with loudspeakers in some New York City neighborhoods to tell people in basement apartments to be ready to flee at a moment’s notice.
Severe thunderstorms soaked most of New Jersey on Tuesday night, causing moderate flooding in many areas and leaving thousands without power.
More than two inches of rain fell in several areas, and as much as six inches was recorded in some southern Jersey communities. Forecasters said the storms were enhanced by moisture drifting up from Tropical Storm Debby. No injuries were reported.
Debby made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane early Monday along the Gulf Coast of Florida.
At least six people have died due to the storm, five of them in traffic accidents or from fallen trees