Four dead as Tropical Storm Debby batters southeast US

At least five people were killed by Tropical Storm Debby as of Monday, after the storm battered Florida and Georgia, which made landfall on Monday morning as a category one hurricane.

The storm, which saw winds up to 80 miles per hour, is expected to continue throughout the southeast and up the coast this week. It could bring potentially catastrophic conditions, the National Hurricane Center warned. 

The names of the people who died have not been released so far, but one death was a 13-year-old boy who died when a tree fell on his mobile home in Levy County, Florida, according to the BBC. A 12-year-old boy was killed on Sunday night in a single-vehicle crash alongside a 38-year-old woman. A 64-year-old man died after he lost control of his vehicle and plunged off a bridge near Tampa.

A 19-year-old man also died on Monday after a tree fell on the side of his house in Georgia, according to CNN.

Hundreds of thousands of people are without power in Florida and Georgia, and a tornado watch has been issued by the Storm Prediction Center for more than 1.5 million people as far north as coastal South Carolina. Curfews have also been ordered in certain counties in Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina.

“Potentially historic heavy rainfall across southeast Georgia and the coastal plain of South Carolina through Saturday morning will likely result in areas of catastrophic flooding,” the National Hurricane Center said in its forecast. “Heavy rainfall will likely result in considerable flooding impacts from portions of central and northern Florida and across portions of central and northeast North Carolina through Saturday morning."

The storm is expected to move offshore on Wednesday, but forecasts predict it will return on Thursday in the northern part of South Carolina, and then push into North Carolina on Friday. 

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.