Debby bringing heavy rain, flooding and possible tornadoes to the Northeast over the weekend

LUCAMA, North Carolina – The remains of Debbie picked up the pace on Friday, moving north and northeast from the Carolinas and still facing heavy rain, flash flooding and the threat of tornadoes.

The Mid-Atlantic states and parts of New York and New England will see significant rainfall that could cause dangerous flooding over the weekend, such as on parts of Interstate 95 near larger cities, said Jon Porter, chief meteorologist at Accuweather. From eastern Virginia to Vermont there could be a number of active tornadoes on Friday, he said.

“There will be multiple threats in Debby’s final chapter, and it is dangerous,” he said.

THE already soggy parts of northern Vermont who were hit by flash floods twice last month were bracing for the possibility of more on Friday. Floods that hit the northeast of the state on July 30 It collapsed bridges, destroyed and damaged homes and destroyed roads in the rural town of Lyndon. It arrived three weeks later after deadly floods in the north and center of the state from the remnants of Hurricane Beryl.

Debby was a tropical depression late Thursday afternoon, the National Hurricane Center said. Arrived on the mainland early monday in the Florida Gulf Coast as a Category 1 hurricane. Then, Debby made landfall second Thursday morning in South Carolina as a tropical storm.

At least seven people have died related to Debby.

On Thursday, tornadoes spawned by Debby destroyed homes, damaged a school and killed one person, as well as the tropical system Heavy rains fell and flooded communities in the Carolinas.

It took just 15 seconds for a tornado to devastate Genesis Cooper’s home in Lucama, North Carolina, a small town about 40 miles east of Raleigh. He almost fell asleep – if it weren’t for an alert on his wife’s phone.

He, his wife and their 20-year-old son were huddled in a bathroom with blankets. They felt vibrations and heard glass breaking before hearing a sudden bang.

“I can’t even describe it. It’s like a suction, that’s how I felt,” said Cooper. “Like something is squeezing, like your ears are popping.”

The tornado was one of at least three reported in North Carolina and perhaps the most devastating. One person was found dead in a home damaged by the Lucama tornado, Wilson County spokesman Stephen Mann said.

The superintendent of Wilson County Schools confirmed damage at Springfield Middle School, where sections of the walls and roof were missing or compromised.

Drone footage showed parts of the school’s roof ripped off, exposing beams and ducts. A section of the wall collapsed onto the soggy green lawn, which was covered in twisted pieces of metal roofing and torn insulation.

Tornado warnings continued to be issued throughout North Carolina and Virginia through Thursday evening. A tornado warning was in effect for more than 17 million people in parts of Washington, D.C., Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia as of 7 a.m. Friday.

Meanwhile, a dam north of Fayetteville, North Carolina, failed Thursday morning as Debby soaked the area. Between 12 and 15 homes were evacuated, but no one was injured and no structures were damaged, Harnett County spokeswoman Desiree Patrick said.

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said at a news conference Thursday that the state has activated more National Guard troops and added additional vehicles that can rescue people in floodwaters.

About 100 miles south of Lucama, deputies in Bladenboro posted photos of a patrol car damaged by a fallen treeas well as roads that were destroyed.

City residents helped fill sandbags on Wednesday before up to 91 centimeters of flood water reached the city center overnight.

Forrest Lennon, owner of Diamond Dave’s Grill in Bladenboro, was counting his blessings despite five inches of floodwater entering the restaurant. He and his wife have owned the place since September. The previous owner said 3 feet of water flooded the building during the last two serious hurricanes, Matthew and Florence.

“It could have been a lot worse,” Lennon said, adding that they did everything they could to prepare for the storm.

More flooding was expected in North Carolina and South Carolina. Up to six more inches of rain could fall before Debby leaves those states. Parts of Maryland, upstate New York and Vermont could get similar precipitation totals until the end of the weekendthe weather service said.

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster warned Thursday that Debby’s effects are not completely over because the rain falling in North Carolina could swell rivers and cause flooding downstream.

“We’ve been through some dangers, but there are still many,” McMaster said. “So don’t let your guard down just yet.”

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Associated Press contributors include Jeffrey Collins in Columbia, South Carolina; Jeff Martin in Atlanta and freelance photographer Mic Smith in Isle of Palms, South Carolina.