We had plenty of time to prepare for Hurricane Debby. Initial forecasts for the southwest coast of Florida called for 4 to 10 inches of rain along with “typical” storm surge, but those of us who live in this area of the country ultimately faced far more than anyone could have imagined.
We tend to focus our worries and preparation on Category 3 or stronger hurricanes. It is unusual for a tropical storm that becomes a borderline Category 1 hurricane to cause the level of damage and mayhem that we’ve seen so far from Debby. She wasn’t moving any slower than the average hurricane, but the amount of water and widespread tropical storm-force winds have proven life-altering and, in some cases, fatal.
The center of Debby stayed 50 miles or more off the west coast of Florida before turning northeast and breaking landfall in the “Big Bend” area, just south of Tallahassee. This kept the entire west coast of Florida on the “dirty side” of the storm. The wind field for Debby, while not ferocious in velocity, was huge in size, stretching tropical storm-force winds for hundreds of miles in all directions from the storm’s center.
Relentless rain and wind
As Sunday night wore on, the rain and wind that typically come in waves during storms became relentless – there was no ebb and flow, just a constant beating of southwesterly winds and heavy rain. We did not put up hurricane shutters because this was “just a tropical storm.” While we didn’t have any wind damage to windows, I’ll reconsider that decision next time, and rest assured, there will be a next time!
That endless wind and rain expanded across the entire Sarasota to Tampa Bay region, with multiple tractor-trailers blown over, bridges battered and eventually closed, and unprecedented storm surge pushing farther inland. One roadway incident involved a tractor-trailer left hanging off an Interstate 75 bridge. The vehicle, with driver trapped inside, fell into 20-foot-deep waters below. The driver did not survive, and fire-rescue crews worked for hours with the Sheriff’s Department to locate and recover the driver.
The Sunshine Skyway Bridge is routinely closed for high-wind events. This time, the bridge was closed around 11 p.m. Sunday and remained closed Monday due to a portion of roadway at the base of the bridge being damaged by storm surge. The Howard Franklin Bridge (the next bridge north on Interstate 275) also remains closed northbound, due to storm surge roadway damage. These significant road closures challenge first responders from both Pinellas and Hillsborough counties. Other bridges can be used, but response times are extended, typically by tens of minutes.
Sunday night was tough for millions of people along the Gulf Coast. At least four tornado warnings were issued for our community alone. We watched as one radar-detected tornado stretched right over our community. The onslaught of notifications and warnings created warning fatigue for many, as we received messages about flash flooding, coastal flooding, street flooding, storm surge, tornados, high surf, rip currents and, ultimately, the tropical storm itself.
Fire/rescue crews all over the region were busy answering hundreds of calls for trapped occupants in high-water car stalls. At least one ladder truck became disabled in high water in Pinellas County.
The day after
The Sarasota area was the first to report multiple rescue and severe flooding issues. Countless people found themselves with water inside their homes, with nowhere for the water to go. Fire/rescue and Sheriff’s department crews used whatever means necessary to rescue over 500 people from homes along the coast and inland.
Evacuation centers had been opened in both Sarasota and Manatee counties, even though no evacuations had been ordered. Evacuations in Zone A (coastal areas) were recommended Sunday evening. Keep in mind, we were preparing for 4 to 10 inches of rain between Sunday and Tuesday. When 4 inches had already fallen by Sunday evening, folks began to understand that this was going to be something different.
Manatee County was also deep into home rescues, with fire/rescue crews from multiple agencies rescuing over 60 people and at least 10 pets in one community alone. By Monday morning, we had received 10 inches of rain in Manatee County, and by the radar echoes, there was no end in sight – just more relentless heavy rain and thunderstorms being pumped in off the Gulf of Mexico.
By Monday evening, we recorded 16.5 inches of rain in Lakewood Ranch, with local runoff ponds overflowing their banks, and normally bucolic backyards becoming alligator- and catfish-infested extensions of the ponds. Catfish were literally swimming up the foot-deep water cascading down our streets.
By Monday afternoon, to avoid damage to the dam, Manatee County officials began a strategic release of Lake Manatee water into the Manatee River. Communities downstream of the dam received emergency signals to evacuate in anticipation of quick releases of water from the dam. All roads crossing the river were closed, not in anticipation, but simply due to overrun creeks, ditches and inundated roadways. One homeowner described the unprecedented flooding as “high tide that just never ended.”
An unprecedented tropical storm
As routine as so many expected this storm to be, at least based on past experiences, locals are now using words like devastation, unprecedented and historic to describe the reality of the impact. One lifetime boater said, “I rode out Irma, Ian and others – they had nothing like this; this was catastrophic for boaters.” Rescue crews found at least one boater deceased on a capsized boat in a harbor.
As the storm moves north, officials in Georgia and South Carolina are facing equally if not more catastrophic results from a weaker but slower storm. While it may be weaker in velocity, the wind field is already beating down the Southeast coast with bands of rain stretching all the way up the East Coast. If the storm sets up like it did on the Gulf Coast, with the constant beat down, as opposed to waves of rain and wind, then the forecast of up to 24 inches of rain will have catastrophic effects in those areas as well. In addition to the states of emergency declared by the states and the power company mutual aid, FEMA task forces have been activated to support rescue efforts projected to be from North Carolina to Florida. We welcome the help!
Always be ready!
Florida residents tend to feel like we’re always ready for anything. In that mode, we pick up lightweight objects outside to keep them from becoming projectiles, and those areas that normally flood have sandbags scattered about where they’ll certainly be needed. But no one was ready for this much rain. This “just a tropical storm” is being called a 50-year storm for the City of St. Petersburg, and all-time 24-hour rain records were broken in the City of Sarasota with 12 inches and 17.5 inches in Lakewood Ranch.
Fire/rescue crews in Sarasota and Manatee counties were able to make more than 800 rescues during the unprecedented rainfall. We were fortunate to not need their services, as our particular community sits at a 65-foot elevation. We don’t think too much about flooding because of that elevation, although the catfish now swimming down our streets may make us reexamine that stance.
I hope you can use our experience with 17-plus inches of rain in 24 hours as a wakeup call for your own preparedness, both as a fire department and for your family, to be ready for anything. Do you have your go-kit? Are you ready to act when you get that “evacuate now” order? The time to plan is now.
