FLORIDA (352today.com) – Tropical Storm Debby was strengthening rapidly Sunday as it churned through the Gulf of Mexico toward Florida, bringing with it the threat of devastating floods.
The National Hurricane Center says the storm is likely to become a strong Category 1 hurricane before making landfall Monday in the Big Bend region.
As we wait for the full impact, 352today crews fanned out to see how people were preparing. Coastal communities like the Crystal River in Citrus County and Cedar Key in Levy County have mandatory evacuations in place for low-lying, flood prone areas. Both tourist towns were wiped out last year when Hurricane Idalia spun up the Gulf Coast dumping devastating amounts of rain coupled with crippling storm surge.
In Crystal River, 352today’s Alan Youngblood found Eric and Melissa Champlin preparing for anticipated flooding – filling sandbags and putting them in place in hopes of keeping water from an anticipated seven-foot storm surge from getting in. They’re property managers and said the 11 homes they oversee all flooded last year during Hurricane Idalia.
Elsewhere in Crystal River, Dan and Tim Buse pull their boat out of the water at Pete’s Pier. The brothers came from Virginia for some fishing just in time for the hurricane. By midday, the city of Crystal River had already closed the park at Hunter Springs in preparation of flooding.
Patrick Rash fills up gas cans on Sunday in Crystal River. A dog waits with his owners for gas in advance of Tropical Storm Debby.
In Cedar Key, Charles Plateroti from Chiefland was among the area business owners taking steps to protect their businesses as the island braces for Tropical Storm Debby. Another business owner had already stacked sandbags in front of their business door. Many businesses were filled with mud and muck following the storm surge from Hurricane Idalia last August.
The surf pushed by winds from Tropical Storm Debby break over the sea wall in Cedar Key on Sunday, Aug. 4, as a man takes a photo. Meanwhile, a man who makes his living on the water scrambles to get his boat on a trailer at a ramp in Cedar Key as the impact from the outer bands of Tropical Storm Debby begin to be felt.
