Nearly 130,000 homes and businesses were without power in North Carolina Thursday morning after Tropical Storm Debby made landfall for a second time, triggering flooding across the state.
Shortly after 9 a.m. local time, more than 129,000 people in the Tar Heel State were without power.
USA TODAY’s Power Outage Tracker showed that the most severe outages were concentrated in four counties in the central part of the state:
Live updates: Tropical Storm Debby hits US land for the second time and soaks the Carolinas again
North Carolina power outage map
When did Tropical Storm Debby hit North Carolina?
According to a 2 a.m. update from the National Hurricane Center, Debby made landfall for the second time early Thursday morning near Bulls Bay, less than 30 miles northeast of Charleston, South Carolina, with maximum sustained winds of up to 50 mph.
The storm reached the coast of Florida’s Big Bend region on Monday before crossing over Georgia and moving along the Atlantic coast. Up to 8 inches of rain is expected, with some areas of the Carolinas and Virginia seeing as much as 15 inches of rain on Thursday and Friday.
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State of emergency remains in effect in North Carolina, evacuations underway
Governor Roy Cooper declared a state of emergency in North Carolina on Monday because of Debby, after rain, possible flooding and power outages were expected.
Possible impacts from Tropical Storm Debby include tornadoes, as tropical storm warnings and watches went into effect Thursday for much of eastern North Carolina and voluntary evacuations are already underway in some areas.
“More than 350 North Carolina National Guard soldiers and airmen have been activated, and swift water rescue teams are on standby across the state,” Cooper’s office said in a press release. “The State Emergency Response Team has deployed personnel and equipment to provide assistance to local communities as quickly as possible, including supplies such as water, sandbags, tarps and water pumps.”
The extent of the damage in the region and the possible victims of the storm were not yet known as of Thursday.
Contributors: Christopher Cann
Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter at USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X at @nataliealund.
