# Effects of Hurricane Debby in Florida

At around 7:00 a.m. EST, Hurricane Debby made Category 1 landfall in Steinhatchee in the Big Bend region of Florida, and resulted in at least four reported deaths. The landfall caused significant flooding of up to 16.56 inches in regions of Florida, caused over 300,000 households to lose power, and required the rescue of over 500 people from rising waters.

## Impact
### August 3-4

The outer bands of Debby began impacting Central and South Florida on August 3, bringing gusty winds and rainfall. A tornado warning was issued in Broward County on August 3. On the night of 4 August, rain bands and forceful winds from the hurricane struck Pinellas County causing significant storm surge and flooding that required emergency crews to rescue over 500 people in Sarasota County. The Florida Highway Patrol stated that the Sunshine Skyway Bridge closed during the storm "due to high winds and inclement weather".
Just prior to landfall in Florida, Cedar Key received a measured storm surge height of 5.5 feet. More than 2 ft (0.6 m) of storm surge inundated Fort Myers Beach, resulting in major flooding.

### August 5

As Hurricane Debby made Category 1 landfall in Steinhatchee in the Big Bend region of Florida, over 300,000 households suffered from power outages, including half of households in Taylor County and 78% in Dixie County. Emergency rescues by fire rescue crew were needed at Suwannee and Horseshoe Beach.
Rainfall caused by the storm exceeded the Sarasota/Bradenton region's average annual rainfall total of about nine inches for the month of August, with Lakewood Ranch receiving 16.56 inches of rain and Sarasota–Bradenton International Airport receiving 12.43 inches of rain. An emergency flash flood warning was issued by the Jacksonville National Weather Service for Suwannee County just after 1 p.m. EST based on estimates of 10–15 inches of rain falling in the region, with weather reports predicting additional rainfall between 3–6 inches.
Almost 90 flights were canceled at Orlando International Airport with 50 more being delayed, Charleston International Airport had over 50 flights cancelled, and Tampa International Airport had over 60 flights cancelled. By 11 a.m. EDT, FlightAware stated that airlines canceled over 1,500 United States flights due to the storm. Several Florida universities closed on 5 August, including Florida A&M University, University of Florida, Florida State University, University of South Florida, and University of North Florida, in addition to two dozen elementary, middle, and high schools.
The first confirmed death caused by the storm was reported in Levy County, where a tree fell onto a mobile home, killing a 13-year-old boy. Two more people were killed and another was severely injured in a car accident in Dixie County due to the severe weather caused by Debby making one of the vehicles lose control. In Tampa, a 64-year-old trucker died after his semi-truck lost control on a wet roadway, struck and jumped a concrete barrier, and fell off Interstate 275 into a canal at around 2:30 a.m.

## Response

Prior to landfall, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis issued a state of emergency for 61 of 67 counties of Florida. Several counties in the Florida Panhandle and in the Tampa and Orlando metropolitan areas began to distribute and place sandbags on 1 August. 17,000 linemen were employed on standby to fix power outages following the storm's movement out of Florida.