Hurricane Debby washes over $1million of cocaine onto Florida’s shore during deadly ‘once-in-1,000-year’ storm
A KILLER hurricane storm has brought more than just strong winds and destruction when it recently made landfall.
Leaving a trail of death and destruction in her wake, Hurricane Debby also left more than two dozen packages of cocaine along a beach in Florida.
Hurricane Debby is already responsible for killing at least five people as the once in 1,000 year deluge caused havoc across several American states.
According to US Border Patrol, the packages were worth £784,000 ($1 million dollars) and weighed about 70 pounds.
The packages were covered in a black rectangular sticker with a red triangle symbol on it.
Posting on X (formally Twitter), acting chief US Border Patrol agent Samual Briggs II said: “A good Samaritan discovered the drugs and contacted authorities.
“U.S. Border Patrol seized the drugs, which have a street value of over $1 million dollars.”
He did not state where he believes the drugs originated or how long they had been in the ocean.
DEATH TOLL
The harrowing hurricane has claimed five lives, including a 12-year-old boy and 38-year-old woman who died in a car crash in Florida when the vehicle lost control due to the weather.
A 13-year-old boy in Levy County, Florida also died when a tree fell onto a mobile home.
Authorities found the boy “crushed inside the home.”
A fourth victim of the hurricane was confirmed to be the 64-year-old driver of an 18-wheeler truck.
The vehicle had reportedly partially fallen into the Tampa Bypass Canal after it lost control on a wet road.
In Georgia, a 19-year-old was reportedly killed after a large tree fell on a home’s porch in Moultrie.
STAY VIGILANT
Georgia governor Brian Kemp told residents to stay vigilant and stay off roads.
He said: “Do not let this storm lull you to sleep.”
He said that in the best case, the storm area would get another four or five inches of rain.
However, he warned that another model showed the storm stalling and moving back into Georgia, and dumping as much as nine additional inches of rain.
SOUTH CAROLINA
South Carolina is bracing for days of rain through Thursday from Tropical Storm Debby.
It already spawned tornadoes and caused flooding Tuesday in areas along the state’s coast.
The tornadoes toppled trees and damaged a few homes on Kiawah Island and Edisto Island between Savannah and Charleston.
A Walmart, an Applebees and other businesses were damaged, and several vehicles flipped in Moncks Corner, about 30 miles inland from Charleston.
There were local reports of flooding, including parts of downtown Charleston that often flood, but no widespread damage.
Some forecasts indicate Debby could bring 10 to 15 inches of rain to rural areas of North and South Carolina that were devastated by floods in Hurricane Matthew in 2016 and Hurricane Florence in 2018.
STATE OF EMERGENCY
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency in 61 of the state’s 67 counties.
Debby moved on-shore as a Category 1 hurricane in The Sunshine State Monday morning – but has since been downgraded to a tropical storm as of 11 am Eastern.
This storm category is assigned to tropical cyclones that maintain a speed between 39 to 73 miles per hour.
Families were warned to “get out now” as the extreme weather claimed the lives of two young boys who were among five victims of Debby’s wrath.
A staggering number of households have been hit with outages across Florida.
Over 269,000 customers have been left without power, mostly in the Big Bend region, according to PowerOutage.us.
Households in Georgia have also been affected as over 14,500 customers have been hit with outages, according to the Georgia Power Outage Map.
Governor DeSantis added that utility crews from inside and out of the state will work to restore power to these places.
STORM PROJECTION
The storm has been projected to move up north along the coast.
Major cities like Savannah, Georgia; Charleston, South Carolina; and Raleigh, North Carolina, could face major rainfall and heavy winds in the coming days.
The National Hurricane Centre has warned how dangerous the impact of this tropical storm could be.
The organisation said: “This is a life-threatening situation.”
FLOOD WARNING
A major risk of extreme flooding has been a particular worry among officials.
The deputy director of the hurricane centre, Jamie Rhome, said the amount of rainfall experienced in the region could be historic, according to the BBC.
He said: “You’re talking about catastrophic flooding.”
This is thought to be due to the storm’s slow-moving nature.
Hurricane Debby is expected to dump as much as 30 inches of rain as it moves up the coast.
This rainfall could be made worse by predicted storm surges, which would result in water being trapped in rivers and unable to drain into the ocean.
FLIGHTMARE
The extreme weather has severely impacted travellers including flyers who face delays and cancellations.
Over 1,500 flights have been cancelled within, out of, or into the US on Monday, according to FlightAware.
US flyers have also been hit with over 3,000 delays.
American Airlines has been particularly affected as it has made major changes to its operations at some airports, according to ABC News.
The carrier stopped all flights from Gainesville, Sarasota, and Tallahassee airports until at least noon on Monday.
American Airlines could also face even more disruption due to two of its major hubs being in Miami and Charlotte, North Carolina.
Wrath of Hurricane Debby
Hurricane Debby has wreaked havoc across Florida.
- Debby made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane on Florida’s Gulf Coast on Monday morning around 7 am ET
- The storm had sustained winds of 75 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center
- Hurricane Debby was downgraded to a tropical storm at around 11 am
- At least five deaths have been confirmed due to the hurricane
- Experts have issued warnings of potential floods as heavy rain is expected in Florida, South Carolina, and Georgia
- Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has declared a state of emergency for 61 counties
- Areas in Florida are seeing 10 inches of rain
- Over 274,000 households are without power, according to PowerOutage.com
- Debby is moving northeast as storm surge warnings are in effect up to South Carolina