As Tropical Storm Debby approaches eastern North Carolina on Wednesday, forecasters are predicting tropical storm force winds, storm surge inundation in coastal areas, and the potential for tornadoes. But the primary impact is flash flooding due to several days of heavy rainfall – especially in areas along and west of Highway 17.
Despite being downgraded to a tropical storm with wind speeds near 45 mph, officials warn that the storm's rainfall capacity makes it extremely dangerous. Stanley Kite, Craven County’s Emergency Services Director, says Tropical Storm Debby is going to have a state-wide impact.
“Local rainfall could cause nuisance flooding and cause some streets to be impassable. We are more concerned right now with the after effects, you know, probably going into after the storm is gone from all the inland rainfall, and the effects it’ll have on the tributaries that all drain back through our area.”
Kite urges residents to stay up to date with weather conditions, road closures, flood gauges and other emergency information online at https://www.readync.gov/.
“This storm is going to have a variety of issues from different areas, depending on, as those bands come through, as to how much rainfall occurs inland, as well as how much local rainfall occurs,” said Kite.
According to Kite, the North Carolina Know Your Zone lookup tool is an invaluable resource right now. Know Your Zone is an interactive map, available online, where you can determine the evacuation zone where you live based on your street address.
“We currently, based on current information and timelines, do not have any evacuation requests. We currently are not in any shelter operations.”
Kite encourages community members to have multiple ways to monitor severe weather updates and receive emergency alerts for their area.
“We’re still going to be prone, with this tropical system, to have some isolated tornadoes, but that’s kind of a, you know, situation that’s hard to plan for, but, you know, that’s why you just need to, you know, there’s enough apps and public information out there, just stay in tune to what’s happening around you.”
Visit https://www.readync.gov/ to view up-to-date shelter locations, road conditions, power outages and more safety information for your area.