27 June 2012 (CNN) – Thousands remain evacuated from their flooded homes in sodden Florida as a weakened Tropical Depression Debby was set to move off the state’s Atlantic coast and back over water. In Florida’s Pasco County alone, 7,000 homes and commercial properties remained under evacuation order, county spokesman Eric Keaton said Wednesday. Seventy-three county residents stayed in shelters Tuesday night, Keaton said. Authorities were allowing residents who present identification at checkpoints to enter their homes temporarily on a case-by-case basis, he said. Pasco County is north of Tampa. Debby, which made landfall as a tropical storm on Florida’s northern Gulf Coast Tuesday, dumped roughly 2 feet of rain on parts of the state. Rain had finally moved out of the region Wednesday, according to National Weather Service radar, but flood warnings remained in effect across northern Florida, although all tropical weather watches and warnings were canceled. Evacuations, either voluntary or mandatory, were also in place in many areas. More than 100 people scrambled to escape rapidly rising water Tuesday near the St. Marys River on the Florida-Georgia border, according to CNN affiliate WJXT. Some men had to use a boat to get back to their homes and rescue their children. “I’m the furthest one out (from the water), which means I’m the last to go under, and I’m going under,” resident George Rhoden told the station. “Everybody behind me is in bad shape. It’s rising 10 inches per hour. We got to go. Everybody got to leave.” Debby paralyzed whole neighborhoods for days. “Sadly, my car didn’t make it through the flooding. My car was just too low, and (the water) ended up hydro-locking the vehicle,” Magalie Caragiorgio of New Port Richey, who missed two days of work because of the flooding, said Tuesday. “I haven’t been able to get my car towed due to the amount of cars being stranded.” As of 5 a.m. ET Wednesday, Debby was centered about 25 miles southeast of St. Augustine, Florida, the National Hurricane Center said. The storm was moving east-northeast at 10 mph, carrying maximum sustained winds of 35 mph. “Additional isolated rainfall amounts of up to 1 inch will be possible in some of the lingering rain bands, mainly over southern Florida,” the weather agency said. While Florida is no stranger to tropical weather, many residents said they had never seen flooding like that resulting from Debby. “It’s astonishing,” Keith Blackmar of the Wakulla County Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday. “… Our soil is sandy, so it handles water well, but not this much rain.” In Sopchoppy, authorities rescued 57 people from homes surrounded by rising water, Blackmar said. “The water levels came up so fast, some of the folks didn’t have time to actually pack their things and move out,” Wakulla County Undersheriff Maurice Langston said. Florida State University researcher Jeff Chanton said the area’s low-lying terrain has contributed to the misery. “The coastal gradient — the rise of the land — is very, very low here,” Chanton said. “If you were to go swimming here and walk out from shore, you could walk out half a mile.” That means a relatively small storm surge can push water “tens or hundreds of feet onshore,” he said. More than 26 inches of rain was recorded in Sanborn, south of Tallahassee, by Tuesday. Nearby St. Marks saw nearly 22 inches. […]

After Days of Flooding, ‘Debby’ Set to Leave Florida

By Miguel Llanos
26 June 2012 River flooding form Tropical Depression Debby — downgraded from a tropical storm late Tuesday — forced up to 20,000 people out of their homes in one Florida county alone, while another area had already seen more than 26 inches of rain, topping the official forecast calling for up to 25 inches in a few areas by the time Debby moves out. In Pasco County near Tampa Bay, a mandatory evacuation was ordered between the Anclote and Pithlachascotee rivers, Reuters reported. The Anclote rose from 9 feet before Debby’s approach to more than 27 feet on Tuesday, flooding areas with water head-high in places. Boats were used to reach stranded residents, and 106 homes had been damaged. Wakulla County, meanwhile, has seen more than 26 inches of rain, weather.com said in a Twitter alert Tuesday morning. Authorities there advised people to stay in their homes due to washed out and flooded roads. Flash flood warnings were issued for parts of northern Florida and southern Georgia as Debby moved eastward. By midday, Debby picked up speed to 6 mph and winds had dropped to 40 mph, but that didn’t stop the rain. Parts of Interstate 10 in north Florida were closed due to flooding on a 50-mile stretch between Jacksonville and Tallahassee. The Florida Highway Patrol warned motorists to use extreme caution on other parts of the highway. Hundreds of thousands of people have been impacted, many having to leave flooded homes in Florida’s Panhandle on Monday and others losing power or having property hit by twisters. […] On Monday, Florida Gov. Rick Scott declared a statewide emergency as five inches of rain in the course of an hour fell on some areas. President Barack Obama called Scott on Tuesday and the federal government stands “ready to provide additional assistance if necessary,” the White House said. St. Marks, Fla., saw 21 inches in a two-day period while other areas got around 20 inches, weather.com noted. Parts of Live Oak, Fla., were evacuated Tuesday due to flooding, it added. Some areas of northern Florida and southeast Georgia could see up to 15 inches of rain Tuesday through Thursday, weather.com stated. The National Hurricane Center predicted parts of northern Florida could see 25 inches of rain by the time Debby crosses Florida and exits into the Atlantic. Weather.com noted that 2012 broke the record for the most named storms so early in the Atlantic season. Debby makes four so far, “leapfrogging Dennis from July 5, 2005. “In an average year, the fourth named storm would have occurred by August 23,” it added. “In terms of named storm counts, we’re roughly two months ahead of the pace. That said, there is no correlation between a fast start to the season and the degree of activity of the rest of the season.” […]

Debby’s deluge: 2 feet of rain, thousands flee floods

By Terry Dickson
27 June 2012 The National Weather Service is warning of flooding of record severity along the St. Marys River in Baker and Nassau counties in Florida and Camden and Charlton counties in Georgia. Record flooding is occurring and is expected to continue until the river crests at nearly 24 feet late this morning at the Georgia 121 bridge between Macclenny and St. George. The road is now closed. The Weather Service had already predicted major flooding and advised those living along the river to take steps to protect their property. Flood stage for the river is considered to be 12 feet. River access roads in Florida and Georgia already are flooded and the river is expected to endanger mobile homes and houses. At greatest risk are residences in the Georgia Bend area on the Charlton County side of the river. Charlton County Emergency Management Director Bruce Young said he had received no calls of flooded homes this morning, but is on his way now “to put some eyes on it.” Much of the area was developed during prolonged dry periods and flooding of the dirt roads that serve the dwellings along the river has become almost routine. The lane of U.S. 1 that was damaged by flooding in northern Folkston is reopen and the Georgia Department of Transportation will be working to make repairs, Young said.

National Weather Service issues ‘record severity’ flood warning for St. Marys River