US Tropical Storm Debby downgraded to ‘tropical depression’

ATLANTA:

Tropical Storm Debby was downgraded to a tropical depression on Thursday after leaving at least seven dead in its wake in the southeastern US this week.

Debby is currently moving north toward Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania and New York, where it is forecast to spawn a few tornadoes and threaten new flooding in some already soaked parts of the U.S., forecasters said.

The National Weather Service said in a release that while Debby will continue to weaken through Sunday, “heavy rainfall, thunderstorms and river flooding will continue over the next two days as the storm begins to accelerate northeastward.”

Debbie made landfall on Thursday for the second time this week, coming ashore again near Bulls Bay, South Carolina, three days after hitting Florida’s Gulf Coast as a Category 1 hurricane, then traveling across northern Florida and the Georgia on the Atlantic coast.

Debby could spawn a few tornadoes in North Carolina and Virginia later Thursday and early Friday, including the Washington, D.C., area, the NWS said.

Debbie was forecast to bring another 3 inches (7 cm) of rain Thursday to parts of eastern South Carolina, the National Hurricane Center said, with totals in some places exceeding 25 inches (64 cm) by Monday. Rainfall totals could reach 15 inches (38 cm) in southeastern North Carolina and 10 inches (25 cm) in parts of Virginia.

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster said there were no storm-related deaths in his state as of Thursday afternoon, but he urged residents to remain cautious about going out as the state faces the risk of river flooding.

“It’s not over yet. We’ve overcome some risks, but there are still many, so don’t get discouraged just yet,” McMaster told a news conference.

More than 45,000 customers were without power in North Carolina and Virginia Thursday night, according to the monitoring website, Poweroutage.us.

A tornado killed a man when his house collapsed as it crossed eastern North Carolina and damaged at least 10 homes, a church and a school in Wilson County, North Carolina, early Thursday, county officials said on social media.

By the weekend, Debby could produce up to 6 inches (15 cm) of rain from Maryland to northern Vermont. But New York City will avoid the worst of the storm, said Josh Weiss, a weather service forecaster.

In Georgia’s Bulloch County, about 50 miles (80 km) northwest of Savannah, four dams burst Wednesday as a result of the flooding, and officials warned that the Cypress Lake Dam was at risk of failing Thursday.

That forced the evacuation of area residents after homes flooded and roads became impassable as lakes and creeks overflowed, the Bulloch County Sheriff’s Office said.