Wilmington is not being shy about this risk.
&&
.SHORT TERM /TUESDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT/...
Well into the thick of Debby at this point. Constant rain this
period, expected to be extremely heavy most of the time, as deep
Atlantic
moisture gets pulled in from Debby spinning just offshore
of South Carolina. This deep
moisture, combined with the slow
motion, will yield a widespread flooding rain threat.
Flash flooding
is projected to be extreme in some cases, with
rainfall amounts of
16-20 inches possible near the coast (8-16 inches possible inland).
If a particular rain band sets up just right,
rainfall amounts could
easily exceed these numbers.
Several areas are
likely to see road scours, washouts, and/or
complete failures. Flooding into structures in the low-lying areas
are a given.
Flood waters are
likely to cut some areas off from the
mainland. Over the last day or two, we`ve been using words like
"devastating," "catastrophic," and "life-threatening". These
words still apply. This is an issue everywhere, but especially
for the northeast SC coast. DO NOT drive across flooded areas.
Past events of this caliber have led to
flash flood-related
fatalities, mostly because of people driving through flooded
roads. Please don`t do this.
We`ve gotten a lot of calls asking for comparisons of Debby vs.
other storms of the past. It`s not really appropriate to play the
comparison game, because Debby will be historic in its own right.
There is no way for us to know if you and your home will
specifically be part of that negative history. But what we CAN say
is that many lives and homes alike will be upended by this storm.
These kind of widespread impacts we haven`t seen in at least 5
years. PLEASE prepare now. Have fresh water, non-perishable foods,
batteries, meds, and more at the ready. Charge all of your devices.
See ready.gov/hurricanes for more information on what to include. Go
to weather.gov/media/ilm/LatestBriefing.pdf for our latest forecast,
which
goes into better detail than what these forecast discussions
give
