Tropical Storm Debby soaks Florida’s Gulf Coast

Associated Press

TAMPA, Fla.

Practically parked off Florida’s Gulf Coast since the weekend, Tropical Storm Debby raked the Tampa Bay area with high wind and heavy rain Monday in a drenching that could top 2 feet over the next few days and trigger widespread flooding.

At least one person was killed Sunday by a tornado spun off by Debby in Florida, and Alabama authorities searched for a man who disappeared in the rough surf.

An estimated 35,000 homes and businesses lost electricity. But as of mid-afternoon, the slow-moving storm had caused only scattered damage, including flooding in some low-lying areas.

The bridge leading to St. George Island, a vacation spot along the Florida Panhandle, was closed to everyone except residents, renters and business owners to keep looters out. The island had no power, and palm trees had been blown down, but roads were passable.

Gov. Rick Scott declared a statewide emergency, allowing authorities to put laws against price-gouging into effect and override bureaucratic hurdles to deal with the storm.

By late afternoon, Debby was in the Gulf of Mexico, 30 miles southwest of Apalachicola, with sustained winds around 45 mph.

A tropical-storm warning remained in effect for the coastal counties of west-central and southwest Florida, forecasters said Monday evening.

Forecasters said it would crawl to the northeast, come ashore along Florida’s northwestern coast Wednesday and track slowly across the state, exiting along the Atlantic Coast by Saturday morning and losing steam along the way.

On Monday evening, the state announced the closing of the Howard Frankland bridge that connects Tampa, including the region’s major airport, and St. Petersburg. The eight-lane bridge carries Interstate 275 over Tampa Bay. Traffic was being diverted to an alternative span.