Hurricane Debby was announced to make landfall at 7am on Monday (August 5), bringing with it risks of flooding, dangerous storm surge, and power outages.
The National Hurricane Center in the US confirmed winds as high as 80mph, making it a Category 1 storm.
It has since been downgraded to a tropical storm, with six deaths confirmed so far. That includes a 12-year-old girl and a 13-year-old boy in Levy County after a tree fell and a 19-year-old man near Valdosta, Georgia, who died when a tree fell onto a porch.
Others killed include an 18-wheeler truck driver who lost control of the vehicle on Interstate 75, and a 38-year-old woman and her 12-year-old son whose SUV crashed during stormy weather in Tampa.
Debby is continuing to move across Florida, with forecasts expected to hit South Carolina on Wednesday and continuing throughout the week before starting to settle down.
Here’s a look at whether it’s safe to travel to Florida amidst the hurricane.
Is it safe to travel to Florida?
While travel is technically allowed to Florida, nearly 2,000 flights were canceled in the US on August 5, according to flight tracking website FlightAware.
Floridian airports all reported significant numbers of flight cancellations and delays.
These disruptions could mean it’s likely wise to cancel or change plans to travel to Florida until the storm has passed to avoid getting stranded. This also includes those who might have connecting flights through Florida to get to other locations.
Where is Storm Debby now?
According to official advice from Visit Florida, the storm is expected to make “a turn toward the east” today, “followed by a turn to the north at a slow forward speed on Wednesday”.
“On the forecast track, the center will move across southeastern Georgia tonight and Tuesday, move offshore of the South Carolina coast by late Tuesday and Wednesday, and approach the South Carolina coast on Thursday,” the statement reads.
Storm Debby is expected to last at least until Thursday, with ebbs and flows in the strength of the same both today and tomorrow.
