SCDOT responding as Debby led to the closure of dozens of roads (2024)

DEBBY MAKES HIS WAY TO THE PD. ALL EYES ON THE COAST TONIGHT AS DEBBY SLAMS PARTS OF THE CAROLINAS AND GEORGIA. THE STORM’S SLOWLY MOVING UP THE COAST, BRINGING TORRENTIAL RAIN WITH IT. FROM CHARLESTON TO SAVANNAH, FLOODING IS THE MAIN CONCERN, WITH MORE THAN A FOOT OF RAIN ALREADY FALLEN IN SOME PLACES, AND MORE IS ON THE WAY. MEANWHILE, A TORNADO CAUSED SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE AMONGST CORONER EARLY THIS MORNING. OUR LIVE TEAM COVERAGE CONTINUES TONIGHT. PEYTON FURTADO AND REY LLERENA ARE BOTH ALONG THE COAST WITH HOW CONDITIONS ARE RIGHT NOW AND OUR JANE ROBELOT IS FOLLOWING GOVERNOR HENRY MCMASTER MESSAGE TO THE STATE. BUT FIRST, WE BEGIN WITH CHIEF METEOROLOGIST CHRIS JUSTICE AS HE TRACKS THE STORM. CHRIS CARROLL, NIGEL, WATCHING THIS STORM CLOSELY, THE TRACK RIGHT NOW HAS WINDS AT 40MPH. BUT LOOK AT THIS. HERE’S THE PROBLEM. IT’S MOVING EAST NORTHEAST AT THREE MILES PER HOUR. MANY OF YOU WALK FASTER THAN THAT DOWN THE GROCERY STORE AISLE. I MEAN, THIS THING IS JUST CRAWLING, IF NOT EVEN JUST KIND OF STALLED OUT RIGHT HERE OVER HILTON HEAD ISLAND. AND THOSE BANDS JUST CONTINUE TO UNLEASH THEIR WRATH ON THE CAROLINA COAST WITH RAIN SHOWER AFTER RAIN SHOWER. AND THAT’S SOME SEVERE WEATHER IN SOME CASES. NOW WE’RE RIGHT ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF THAT CLOUDS. YES, BUT RAIN IS DOWN TOWARD COLUMBIA NOW. THE LATEST TRACK SHOWS US GOING BACK OUT OVER WATER TONIGHT, WHERE IT WILL ACTUALLY BEGIN TO STRENGTHEN. REMEMBER, TROPICAL SYSTEMS REQUIRE THAT WATER, THAT WARM OCEAN WATER TO KIND OF ALLOW IT TO STRENGTHEN. AND YOU BET IT’S ON APPROACH TO A STRONG TROPICAL STORM. EVEN GETTING CLOSER WITHIN TEN MILES PER HOUR. BEING A HURRICANE AGAIN AS IT MAKES LANDFALL LATE TOMORROW NIGHT INTO THE EARLY MORNING HOURS OF THURSDAY NEAR MYRTLE BEACH AS IT MOVES UP TOWARD THE NORTH. RIGHT HERE. AS YOU CAN SEE FROM OUR SATELLITE RADAR. LOOK AT ALL THIS RAIN TOWARD THE COAST. AND THAT’S WHAT’S THE PROBLEM HERE IS SOME OF THESE AREAS HAVE ALREADY HAD WAY TOO MUCH RAIN. LIVE SUPER DOPPLER FOUR SHOWS SOME OF THOSE OUTER BANDS GETTING AS CLOSE AS NEWBERRY COUNTY. SO WE’RE RIGHT LITERALLY ON THE EDGE OF THIS, THE CLOUDS KEEPING US COOLER UPPER 70S TO LOW 80S RIGHT NOW. OVER THE NEXT 12 HOURS, LOOK FOR A PASSING SHOWER, BUT MAINLY JUST CLOUDY TEMPERATURES. GET INTO THE LOW 70S AS WE GO INTO TOMORROW. NOW COMING UP, I’M GOING TO MAP OUT THE PROBLEM SPOTS THAT HAVE ALREADY HAD OVER A FOOT OF RAIN IN SOME LOCATIONS. HOW MUCH MORE THEY CAN EXPECT AND WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT WITH SOME HEAVY RAIN. UNFORTUNATELY, THE TIMING HERE IS FOR THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL. THANK YOU CHRIS. LET’S GO BACK TO THE LOW COUNTRY WHERE MONCKS CORNER WAS HIT BY A TORNADO. OUR PEYTON FURTADO JOINS US NOW. AND PEYTON, HOW BAD WAS THE DAMAGE? YEAH. GOOD AFTERNOON, NIGEL AND CAROL. THE DAMAGE IS PRETTY PATCHY IN SOME SPOTS, BUT WHERE IT’S BAD, IT’S BAD. HERE IN MONCKS CORNER, GRAVEL LEAVES, DEBRIS ALL OVER THE PLACE. I’M GOING TO STEP OUT OF THE WAY SO YOU CAN SEE WHAT WE SAW AS WE DROVE UP THIS AFTERNOON. YEAH, THIS IS A TRUCK FLIPPED OVER IN A PARKING LOT. THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN CHARLESTON TELLS US A TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN HERE AROUND 255 THIS MORNING, WITH WINDS STRONG ENOUGH. YES, TO FLIP A TRUCK. NOW, LAST NIGHT, TOWN OFFICIALS TELL US SHOPPING CARTS WENT AIRBORNE, BUSINESSES TORN TO SHREDS. THIS PARKING LOT AND SURROUNDING AREAS TURNED UPSIDE DOWN THIS MORNING. AND AFTERNOON. THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ASSESSING POTENTIAL DAMAGE IN PARTS OF THE LOW COUNTRY. AND HERE IN MONCKS CORNER, A TOWN MANY FOLKS LIVING IN MORE RURAL AREAS DEPEND ON FOR THEIR EVERYDAY NEEDS. WE SPOKE WITH OFFICIALS AT THE SCENE SOON AFTER THE FIRST THING I DO IS I GO OVER TO THE WALMART PARKING LOT AND THERE WAS DEBRIS ALL OVER THE PARKING LOT. UM, OVER AT TRU AUTO, THERE WERE CARS FLIPPED OVER. YOU KNOW, IF THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN 8:00 IN THE MORNING, THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN A PRETTY BUSY INTERSECTION. AND WE PROBABLY WOULD HAVE HAD A LOT MORE INJURIES. ONE PERSON HAD MINOR INJURIES FROM THAT INCIDENT. CHARLESTON HAS GOTTEN MORE THAN 11IN OF RAIN AT THIS POINT. IT FLOODED THE DOWNTOWN AREA THIS MORNING. WE WERE NEARLY TRAPPED THERE AS WATERS ROSE AND BLOCKED OFF ROADWAYS AND EMERGENCY VEHICLES POWERED THROUGH THE THEN ANKLE DEEP WATER. NOW, RIGHT NOW, THINGS DEFINITELY NOT AS EXTREME AS WHAT WE SAW THIS MORNING. WINDS JUST KIND OF COMING THROUGH, BREEZING THROUGH THE RAIN, STARTING TO COME DOWN A LITTLE HEAVIER. IT STARTED JUST AS A PITTER PATTER HERE AND THERE. WE’RE KEEPING AN EYE ON ALL OF THIS FOR YOU, AND WE’LL BRING YOU UPDATED INFORMATION AS IT BECOMES AVAILABLE. BUT FOR NOW, LIVE IN MONCKS CORNER. I’M PEYTON FURTADO FOR WYFF NEWS FOUR. ALL RIGHT, PEYTON, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. AND STAY SAFE. NOW LET’S HEAD UP THE COAST TO MYRTLE BEACH. REY LLERENA JOINS US LIVE NEAR THE BOARDWALK. RAY, WHAT ARE YOU SEEING? WELL, CAROL, NIGEL, LET ME JUST SHOW YOU WHAT I’M SEEING. WE’RE SEEING A BUNCH OF ROUGH SURF, AND YOU CAN SEE THOSE WAVES. IF I STEP OUT OF THE WAY, CRASHING AGAINST THE PIER, YOU CAN SEE EVEN A FEW WHITECAPS HITTING AGAINST THE PIER RIGHT NOW. AND A FEW PEOPLE THAT ARE, YOU KNOW, LOOKING FOR SEASHELLS, LOOKING FOR ANY DEBRIS THAT THIS SYSTEM MIGHT CHURN UP. NOW, HORRY COUNTY COUNCIL, IN JUST THE LAST FEW HOURS, HAS DECLARED A LOCAL STATE OF EMERGENCY AND THEIR EMERGENCY OPERATIONS CENTER WILL BE ACTIVATED STARTING TOMORROW MORNING. MYRTLE BEACH CITY OFFICIALS SAY THEY’RE ANTICIPATING ANYWHERE BETWEEN 10 TO 15IN OF RAIN DUE TO TROPICAL STORM DEBBY, AND HAVE CLOSED THE BEACHES TO SWIMMERS. HORRY COUNTY SCHOOLS HAS MOVED CLASSES STARTING TOMORROW THROUGH THURSDAY TO REMOTE LEARNING, CITY OFFICIALS SAY THEY HAVE BROUGHT IN MULTIPLE LOADS OF TRUCKS TO DISTRIBUTE SAND FOR PEOPLE, AND ARE WELL PREPARED FOR THE STORM. WE’VE HAD CREWS TAKING TRASH CANS OFF OF THE BEACH, LOWERING RETENTION PONDS, THAT KIND OF THING. GETTING GETTING PREPARED UP STAFFING FOR OUR PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMENTS. BUT WE’RE BASICALLY JUST IN PREPARATION MODE NOW. OFFICIALS SAY ONE OF THEIR BIGGEST CONCERNS IS PEOPLE DRIVING THROUGH THE STANDING WATER AND GETTING STUCK DURING THE STORM. THEY’RE ASKING PEOPLE TO AVOID DRIVING DURING THE STORM, BUT IF THEY MUST, TO TURN AROUND AND DON’T DROWN. NOW BACK OUT LIVE. YOU CAN SEE THERE’S A BUNCH OF PEOPLE STILL, YOU KNOW, TAKING IN THE SIDE, STILL TAKING IN THE SURF. THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WATCH FOR THIS AREA UNTIL TOMORROW MORNING, AND A FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL FRIDAY MORNING. LIVE IN MYRTLE BEACH, REY LLERENA. WYFF NEWS FOUR. THANK YOU. RAY. THE GOVERNORS OF BOTH CAROLINAS AND GEORGIA ARE WORKING TO KEEP THEIR CITIZENS SAFE AS DEBBY SLOWLY MAKES HER WAY UP THE COAST, EACH OF THE GOVERNORS HELD A NEWS CONFERENCE TODAY WITH UPDATES. OUR JANE ROBELOT TUNED IN TO THOSE AND JOINS US NOW WITH THE MESSAGE FROM STATE EXECUTIVES. JANE. WELL, NIGEL AND CAROL, GEORGIA GOVERNOR BRIAN KEMP, SOUTH CAROLINA GOVERNOR HENRY, MASTER AND NORTH CAROLINA GOVERNOR ROY COOPER, ALL EMPHASIZING THAT FLOODING IS THE ISSUE OF GREATEST CONCERN FROM THIS STORM. GOVERNOR KEMP REPORTED ONE FATALITY IN SOUTHERN GEORGIA IN SOUTH CAROLINA, GOVERNOR MCMASTER SAYS THAT SO FAR, THE STATE HAS SEEN DAMAGE BUT NO DEATHS OR INJURIES, AND HE IS URGING CITIZENS TO STAY ON GUARD. WE WANT TO URGE PEOPLE AGAIN TO BE SAFE. THINK. THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU DO AND DON’T TAKE ANY CHANCES. AND REMEMBER, THIS WATER CAN BE VERY DANGEROUS, PARTICULARLY WHEN IT’S MOVING. AND PLEASE KNOW THAT IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS AT ALL, YOU CAN CALL THE TROPICAL STORM DEBBY HOTLINE. IT’S RIGHT HERE IT. IS (866) 246-0133. WE ARE VERY LUCKY HERE IN GREENVILLE COUNTY. WE HAVE A LOT OF HIGHLY SKILLED, HIGHLY TRAINED, FIRST RESPONDERS. AND ALSO WE HAVE A LOT OF GOOD EQUIPMENT HERE IN THE COUNTY. AND IT’S ALWAYS A GOOD THING WHEN WE’RE ABLE TO HELP OUR NEIGHBORS OUT IN TIMES OF NEED. THE GREENVILLE COUNTY SWIFTWATER RESCUE TEAM LEFT THIS MORNING FOR THE LOW COUNTRY. IT’S COMPOSED OF VOLUNTEERS FROM FIRE DEPARTMENTS THROUGHOUT THE COUNTY. SEVERAL OTHER LOCAL TEAMS ARE ALSO HEADING TO THE COAST AS WE CONTINUE TO TRACK. DEBBY, YOU CAN ALWAYS TURN TO