Tallahassee city and Leon County officials implored residents to prepare for the possibility of damaging winds and torrential rain as Debby made landfall in Big Bend on Monday as a Category 1 hurricane.
During a Sunday morning press conference at the Public Safety Complex, Emergency Management Director Kevin Peters said that while the most recent hurricanes in the area — like last year’s Idalia — have been “wind-focused” events, , Debby also threatens to bring torrential rain.
“I don’t want anyone in the community to go unnoticed – we expect, in addition to the strong winds, heavy rain in our county,” Peters said. “We could see 15 to 20 centimeters of widespread rain, but we could see larger amounts, approaching 30 centimeters or even more isolated rain.”
This is the live press conference on Tropical Storm Debby and related preparedness operations, held on August 4 at 9:30 am. https://t.co/Jm2kFlwHui
– City of Tallahassee (@CityofTLH) August 4, 2024
The National Weather Service in Tallahassee warned that the eastern Florida Big Bend and south-central Georgia could see 6 to 12 inches of rain, with isolated amounts of up to 7 inches. Peters said Debby is forecast to make landfall east of Big Bend with winds of 85 mph.
Mayor John Dailey said mutual aid workers would arrive later in the day from Louisiana and Alabama to help restore power and that other crews were ready to respond from across Florida.
“Trees down are expected,” Dailey said. “Power outages are expected. Localized flooding is expected. Please prepare your family, knowing that there may come a time when first responders are unable to contact you.”
Dailey said frontline crews, from electric, water, sewer and natural gas utilities to firefighters and police, train year-round for tropical events and that “your city is prepared.”
“We know how to respond,” he said. “We will respond accordingly.”
The hurricane arrives less than three months after a tornado outbreak that brought widespread destruction to Tallahassee, which was mentioned several times at the news conference. On May 10, a freak storm system that spawned three separate tornadoes damaged or destroyed hundreds of homes, destroyed much of the power grid, and killed two people. This followed another storm in April that caused widespread flooding in the city.
“Let us be safe, let us pray and wish the best for our community,” said County Commission Chairwoman Carolyn Cummings, who declared a state of emergency on Saturday.
The municipality’s Emergency Operations Center, which had been partially activated, became fully activated on Sunday morning. Cummings said the county was “prepared” and “focused” on the storm and urged residents to do the same.
Schools Superintendent Rocky Hanna said the district is opening six shelters and more will come online if needed. The shelters are located at Chiles, Lincoln, Rickards and SAIL high schools, Fairview Middle School and Fort Braden School.
“We know that a number of residents are dealing with property loss and damage as a result of these tornadoes,” Hanna said. “So please take advantage of these shelter locations.”
Leon County Sheriff Walt McNeil urged people to stay off the streets when the storm passes to avoid interfering with electrical repair and road cleaning crews. He warned that restoration efforts could last through Monday and Tuesday.
“We will weather this storm,” McNeil said. “We always do.”
Contact Jeff Burlew at jburlew@tallahassee.com or 850-599-2180.
This article originally appeared in the Tallahassee Democrat: Tallahassee and Leon County Officials Warn Residents to Prepare for Debby
