As Tropical Storm Debby spun north through the warm Gulf of Mexico Water Sunday, roads and bridges in Southwest Florida, Georgia and South Carolina all felt the effects of the passing storm.
An estimated150,000 customers are without power throughout the Southeast states, with at least four people dead in Florida, according to a report from the Tampa Bay Times.
After the National Hurricane Center advisory on Sunday, parts of Florida remained under a Tropical Storm Warning and a Storm Surge Watch. But on Monday morning, coastal Lee, Fla. still faced a high rip current risk and remained under a high surf and coastal flooding advisories.
Fort Myers Beach roads and some homes and businesses flooded, the result of storm surge and high tide hitting at the same time. Captiva and Bonita Beach roads also flooded.
Cape Coral yards and roads flooded too, and Fort Myers and North Fort Myers residents reported the Caloosahatchee River lapping over seawalls.
Tropical storm force winds extended 140 miles outward from the center of Tropical Storm Debby, with Southwest Florida on the east, and worst side of the storm.
As of Monday, Debby was a tropical storm moving across northern Florida and south Georgia. It is likely that Debby will move back out into the Atlantic, but will probably track near the Southeast coast through the middle to end of the week before finally lifting north.
Several closures have been put in place in downtown Charleston, S.C, due to dangerous conditions from the outer bands of the storm.
Tampa bay roads and bridges, including Sunshine Skyway bridge, Howard Frankland bridge and Courtney Campbell Causeway all have closures, according to WTSP.com.
Over 10 roads and sections of some highways have also been closed in Savannah, Ga., due to flooding.
The rest of the system is forecast to move very slowly for several days, forcing city and DOT officials in the affected states to stay alert.
Source: News-Press.com, theledger.com, Tampa Bay Times, WTSP.com
