The Latest: Debby blamed for multiple deaths in Florida, Georgia, leaves thousands without power

High winds and heavy rains from Tropical Storm Debby lashed Florida on Monday. At least four deaths were reported in the state, and hundreds had to be rescued from flooded homes.

The storm is now threatening to flood some of America’s most historic Southern cities.

Here's the Latest:

About 500 people were rescued from flooded homes in Sarasota, Florida, a beach city popular with tourists, the Sarasota Police Department said Monday in a social media post.

“Essentially we’ve had twice the amount of the rain that was predicted for us to have,” Sarasota County Fire Chief David Rathbun said in a social media update.

Just north of Sarasota, officials in Manatee County said in a news release that 186 people were rescued from flood waters.

“We are facing an unprecedented weather event with Hurricane Debby,” said Jodie Fiske, Manatee County's public safety director. “The safety of our residents is our top priority, and we are doing everything in our power to respond effectively to this crisis.”

Heavy winds and rain associated with Debby toppled a large tree onto a porch at a home in south Georgia, killing a 19-year-old man, authorities said Monday.

Colquitt County Coroner C. Verlyn Brock said the man died at the home in the city of Moultrie, about 40 miles (64 kilometers) northwest of Valdosta, Georgia, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

The storm has damaged roofs and downed power lines in Moultrie, Police Chief Chad Castleberry told WALB-TV.

The National Hurricane Center said Debby had top winds near 45 mph (75 kph) Monday evening as it moved slowly to the northeast. It was expected to cross southeastern Georgia and to slow to a crawl as it turns eastward.

Charleston, South Carolina, officials announced a curfew starting at 11 p.m. Monday for the peninsula that makes up much of downtown and the older parts of the 350-year-old city as some of the heaviest rain from Tropical Storm Debby is expected to fall overnight.

Police will barricade all eight roads leading into the peninsula and only let essential workers and emergency personnel in or out. High-water vehicles will also be staged to go into the area as needed, Charleston Mayor William Cogswell said at a Monday evening news conference.

“We need people to make their way out. This is not something you can stay at the bar until 10:45. We need you to take this seriously,” Cogswell said.

The mayor said forecasters told him 10 to 12 inches (25 to 30 centimeters) of rain could fall in Charleston overnight.

City officials will assess the situation early Tuesday and decide how and when to reopen roads and lift the curfew.

State officials don’t plan any evacuations in South Carolina for now as Tropical Storm Debby slowly spins toward the state.

Large-scale evacuations typically bring people inland from the coast, and forecasters say Debby’s biggest impacts could be as much as 30 inches (76 centimeters) of rain in localized areas throughout the state, causing floodwaters to rise quickly in small areas. So any evacuations will up to local leaders.

“This storm may not have the high winds of a hurricane, but it has the potential to cause life-threatening floods across the state. And I would like to emphasize that Tropical Storm Debby is not just a coastal event, but it is a statewide event,” state Emergency Management Division Director Kim Stenson said at a Monday afternoon news conference.

The White House said Monday that President Joe Biden has approved a request from South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster for an emergency declaration, following his earlier approval of a similar request from Florida.

In a statement, the White House said personnel from the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Coast Guard are deploying to the region and are prepared to support recovery efforts.

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper declared a state of emergency Monday ahead of Debby's anticipated rainfall. Flooding and power outages are expected to start Tuesday and continue through the rest of the week, according to North Carolina Emergency Management officials.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis previously had declared a state of emergency for 61 of Florida’s 67 counties, with the National Guard activating 3,000 guard members. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp also had made his own emergency declaration.

With Debby's winds and rains expected to worsen overnight, officials for Savannah and surrounding Chatham County announced that an overnight curfew will take effect at 10 p.m. Monday and run to 6 a.m. Tuesday. The National Hurricane Center says the region can expect rains that could exceed 20 inches (51 centimeters).

By Monday afternoon, the storm’s outer bands were lashing Tybee Island, home to Georgia’s largest public beach, blowing sheets of rain sideways and rattling street signs near the beach pier. The island of 3,100 residents east of Savannah was bracing for a potential double-dose of flooding from an expected 2 to 4 feet of storm surge on top of rainfall.

“This is unprecedented rainfall,” said Michelle Owens, Tybee Island’s interim city manager. She added: “We don’t know what that looks like. So we have to be prepared for the worst. But we are definitely hoping for the best.”

Public works crews used earthmoving equipment to heap sand over beach access points to help fortify a storm surge buffer offered by surrounding dunes. Owens said the city also had given out about 2,000 sandbags to island residents.

Angela Thompson had several sandbags ready by the front door of her ground-level apartment near Tybee Creek on the island’s west side. She had just started moving in earlier this week and hoped to ride out the storm while unpacking.

“I have food and water and batteries and the things that I need, and I’m going to stay as long as I can,” Thompson said.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis warned that just because Tropical Storm Debby is moving toward Georgia, that doesn’t mean the state won’t continue to see threats as waterways north of the border fill up and flow south.

“It is a very saturating, wet storm,” DeSantis said during a briefing at the state’s emergency operations center. “When they crest and the water that’s going to come down from Georgia, it’s just something that we’re going to be on alert for not just throughout today, but for the next week.”

Record-setting rain was forecast to cause flash flooding in coastal Georgia and South Carolina and into North Carolina, with up to 30 inches (76 centimeters) of rainfall in some areas, according to the National Hurricane Center. Debby made landfall early Monday as a Category 1 hurricane over Florida's gulf coast. The storm was moving slowly to the north-northeast and was expected to slow down as it turns to the east.

The sheriff of Florida's Taylor County, where Debby came ashore as a hurricane Monday, says there are no deaths or injuries in the sparsely populated area located in the state's northern Big Bend region.

But Sheriff Wayne Padgett advised anyone who had evacuated from low-lying and coastal areas to wait before returning because the tide will be coming in and it's unknown how deep the water might get. Several roads are closed due to flooding as well as trees and power lines downed by the storm, Padgett said.

Debby made landfall as a category 1 hurricane near Steinhatchee, a tiny community of less than 1,000 residents.

No evacuations were planned Monday on South Carolina’s Hilton Head Island, one of the state's most popular beach destinations. But Mayor Alan Perry warned tourists and residents not to let their guard down with forecasts predicting up to 30 inches (76 centimeters) of rain this week from Debby.

“We don’t know how much rain is going to fall. But we have to prepare for the worst,” Perry said. “If that happens, we will see an event we have never seen on Hilton Head before.”

In a video posted on Facebook, Perry asked island residents and visitors to check on each other before the heavy rain starts — and maybe help the city out by checking storm drains. “If you are able to go out and pull some debris from those drains so they can drain, that’s is really key to preventing additional flooding,” he said.

Hilton Head Island has about 38,000 residents. Officials estimate up to 250,000 tourists can be on the island on the busiest summer days.

As Debby threatened to dump potentially historic flooding rains across southeast Georgia, more than 20 people in Savannah filled sandbags at a park in the city’s suburban southside. Rain soaked their clothes and mud stuck to their shoes. Officials are especially concerned about Debby because the area already is saturated after Savannah recorded 8.5 inches of rain in July, 3 inches greater than normal, according to the National Weather Service.

Jim Froncak tossed a dozen full bags into the back of his pickup truck while his son and a friend did the shoveling. Even though his home sits about 2 feet off the ground, Froncak said he won’t be surprised if a nearby ditch overflows with floodwaters capable of reaching his doors.

“A really heavy thunderstorm will fill it up,” Froncak said. “So whatever’s coming is really going to fill it up and flow over.”

City crews spent days ahead of Debby’s arrival clearing storm drains throughout Savannah. Some low-lying neighborhoods outside the historic downtown area had flooded streets from thunderstorms less than two weeks ago.

In the Florida Keys, Debby blew packages containing 70 pounds (32 kilograms) of cocaine onto a beach, the U.S. Border Patrol’s Miami sector reported Monday.

A “good Samaritan” found the drugs and contacted authorities, the agency said. The cocaine has a street value of more than $1 million, the agency said on social media. It’s didn’t say exactly where the cocaine was found.

Vice President Kamala Harris is postponing a scheduled trip to Georgia amid the ongoing effects of Tropical Storm Debby.

Harris’ campaign said her stop planned in Savannah, Georgia, on Thursday, was being put off due to the storm.

Harris is choosing her running mate and will introduce the choice during a rally in Philadelphia on Tuesday. The pair will then travel together starting on Wednesday to a series of key battleground states: Wisconsin, Michigan, North Carolina, Arizona and Nevada. But the Georgia leg of the original journey has been canceled for now.

Debby made landfall in Florida on Monday as a Category 1 hurricane and was expected to bring potentially record-setting rainfall to Georgia and South Carolina as it heads east.

More than 1,600 flights were canceled nationwide by midday Monday, many of them to and from Florida airports, according to FlightAware.com. One out of every five flights scheduled to leave Orlando International Airport was canceled Monday, with just as many incoming flights canceled there.

Nearly 30 percent of flights scheduled to depart Tampa International Airport on Monday were canceled. High numbers of canceled flights were also reported at airports in Jacksonville and Fort Myers.

President Joe Biden was briefed on Debby’s progress while at his home in Wilmington, Delaware, the White House said Monday.

The White House said Biden on Saturday approved Florida’s request for an emergency declaration and that federal rescue personnel, meals and water have been deployed to the storm-stricken region. The administration is closely monitoring the storm and response effort with state and local officials, it said.

A 13-year-old boy died Monday morning after a tree fell on a mobile home located southwest of Gainesville, Florida, according to the Levy County Sheriff’s Office.

Officials reported other deaths as Debby moved inland.

A truck driver died early Monday on Interstate 75 in the Tampa area after he lost control of his tractor trailer, which flipped over a concrete wall and dangled over water before the cab dropped into the water below.

East of Steinhatchee, a tiny community in northern Florida near where the storm made landfall, a 38-year-old woman and a 12-year-old boy were killed late Sunday when the car she was driving on a wet road struck a median and then overturned off the road. A 14-year-old boy who was a passenger was hospitalized with serious injuries, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

Debby has weakened into a tropical storm with top winds hovering around 45 mph (75 kph) Monday evening. The National Hurricane Center in Miami said the storm was moving slowly to the northeast. It was expected to cross southeastern Georgia and to slow to a crawl as it turns to the east. Debby made landfall as a hurricane in the Big Bend region of Florida, one of the state’s least populated areas.

Forecasters are still warning that heavy rain could spawn catastrophic flooding in Florida, South Carolina and Georgia. Substantial rainfall was expected as well in central and northeast North Carolina through Wednesday morning.

Forecasters said storm surge was expected to be the biggest threat for Florida, with 6 to 10 feet (1.8 to 3 meters) of inundation above ground level predicted in part of the zone near the Big Bend.

“That part of the coast is a very vulnerable spot,” John Cangialosi, a hurricane specialist with the National Hurricane Center, said Monday. Some areas, including Sarasota and Manatee counties, have already received 10 to 12 inches (25 to 30 centimeters) of rain.

In Georgia, the National Weather Service is predicting major flooding on some rivers: the Canoochee River near Claxton, the Ohoopee River near Reidsville and the Ogeechee River near Eden. All those rivers were below flood stage Monday but could see their water levels more than double by later in the week.

More than 300,000 customers were without power in Florida and Georgia on Monday afternoon, down from a peak of more than 350,000, according to PowerOutage.us and Georgia Electric Membership Corp.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said some 17,000 linemen are working to restore electricity. He warned residents in affected areas to sit tight until conditions are safe.

“When the water rises, when you have streets that can be flooded, that’s hazardous,” DeSantis said. “Don’t try to drive through this. We don’t want to see traffic fatalities adding up. Don’t tempt fate, don’t try to go through these flooded streets.”

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This version corrects the attribution for power outage figures to PowerOutage.us, not PowerOutage.com.

People attach a towline to a stranded vehicle on a flooded street after heavy rain from Tropical Storm Debby, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024, in Savannah, Ga. (AP Photo/Stephen B. Morton)

Savannah resident Roi Roizaken loads sandbags into his van as rain from Hurricane Debby starts to fall, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024, in Savannah, Ga. Forecasters warned heavy rain could spawn catastrophic flooding in Florida, South Carolina and Georgia. (AP Photo/Stephen B. Morton)

Tybee Island Department of Public Works employee Bruce Saunders uses a backhoe to pile sand as a barriers against storm surge from Tropical Storm Debby at a beach access point, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024, in Tybee Island, Ga. (AP Photo/Stephen B. Morton)

The driver of a stranded vehicle pushes his van out of a flooded street after heavy rain from Tropical Storm Debby, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024, in Savannah, Ga. (AP Photo/Stephen B. Morton)

A pedestrian walks past a sign on a flooded street after heavy rain from Tropical Storm Debby, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024, in Savannah, Ga. (AP Photo/Stephen B. Morton)

People attach a towline to a stranded vehicle on a flooded street after heavy rain from Tropical Storm Debby, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024, in Savannah, Ga. (AP Photo/Stephen B. Morton)

Storm surge pushes water past wind swept palm trees along the Gulf of Mexico, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024, in Horseshoe Beach, Fla. Hurricane Debby made landfall early this morning.(AP Photo/Christopher O'Meara)

Beach goers walk near the Tybee pier as wind and rain from Tropical Storm Debby start to come ashore, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024, in Tybee Island, Ga. (AP Photo/Stephen B. Morton)

Roger Huffman's home in Bradenton's Villa Del Sol mobile home park is without power and surrounded by floodwater, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024, after Tropical Weather Debby swept through the area. (Tiffany Tompkins/The Bradenton Herald via AP)

A tractor trailer dangles from a bridge on Interstate 75 near Tampa, Fla., early Monday, Aug. 5, 2024. The driver was killed. The truck’s cab broke off and dropped into the Tampa Bypass Canal. Sheriff’s office divers located the 64-year-old man from New Albany, Mississippi in the cab 40 feet below the surface, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.(Florida Highway Patrol via AP)

Brantley Schnabel helps his family carry sandbags to their van while preparing for Hurricane Debby at a county park, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024, in Savannah, Ga. Debby reached the Big Bend coast of Florida early Monday, bringing with it the potential for catastrophic flooding and life-threatening storm surge. (AP Photo/Stephen B. Morton)

Angela Ortiz, left, hands her son Barrett Ortiz, right a stack of sandbags while preparing for Hurricane Debby at a county park, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024, in Savannah, Ga. Debby reached the Big Bend coast of Florida early Monday, bringing with it the potential for catastrophic flooding and life-threatening storm surge. (AP Photo/Stephen B. Morton)

A block wall, knocked over from storm surge, blocks a road near homes in Horseshoe Beach, Fla., Monday, Aug. 5, 2024. Hurricane Debby made landfall early this morning. (AP Photo/Christopher O'Meara)

Storm surge breaks over a small sea wall near boat docks, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024, in Horseshoe Beach, Fla. Hurricane Debby made landfall early this morning.(AP Photo/Christopher O'Meara)

Residents prepare for Hurricane Debby by filling up sandbags provided by the county, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024, in Savannah, Ga. Forecasters warned heavy rain could spawn catastrophic flooding in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina. (AP Photo/Stephen B. Morton)

Hershey Stepherson, left, and Bryan Burc, right, use a five gallon bucket to fill a sandbag while preparing for Hurricane Debby, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024, in Savannah, Ga. Debby reached the Big Bend coast of Florida early Monday, bringing with it the potential for catastrophic flooding and life-threatening storm surge. (AP Photo/Stephen B. Morton)

Chatham County employees dump a truck load of sand for residents to use in sandbag as they prepare for Hurricane Debby, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024, in Savannah, Ga. Forecasters warned heavy rain could spawn catastrophic flooding in Florida, South Carolina and Georgia. (AP Photo/Stephen B. Morton)

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — The president of South Florida's police union said Miami Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill was handcuffed and placed face down on the ground during a traffic stop because he was not “immediately cooperative” with officers, but Hill said he was respectful throughout the interaction.

Steadman Stahl, president of the South Florida Police Benevolent Association, said Hill was “redirected” to the ground after refusing to sit when he was briefly detained outside the Dolphins' home stadium in an incident that resulted in one officer being immediately placed on administrative leave amid an internal investigation.

Passing fans and some teammates saw Hill in handcuffs with at least three officers around him following the stop that quickly went viral just hours before the Dolphins kicked off their season Sunday.

Hill later said he didn't know why the officers placed him in handcuffs.

“I have no idea, for real,” Hill said. “I wasn’t disrespectful because my mom didn’t raise me that way. Didn’t cuss. Didn’t do none of that. So like I said, I’m still trying to figure it out, man.”

Stahl said Hill was handcuffed according to the police department's policy.

“At no time was he ever under arrest,” Stahl said in the statement. "He was briefly detained for officer safety, after driving in a manner in which he was putting himself and others in great risk of danger.

“Upon being stopped, Mr. Hill was not immediately cooperative with the officers on the scene who, pursuant to policy and for their immediate safety, placed Mr. Hill in handcuffs. Mr. Hill, still uncooperative, refused to sit on the ground and was therefore redirected to the ground. Once the situation was sorted out within a few minutes, Mr. Hill was issued two traffic citations and was free to leave.”

Miami-Dade police still aren’t saying what infraction Hill was cited with — he said they told him he was stopped for speeding and reckless driving — but they have confirmed that Hill’s teammate Calais Campbell, who was also briefly detained, wasn’t cited. The officer who detained Hill has been placed on administrative duty, pending the findings of the internal investigation, which is normal procedure.

Miami-Dade Police director Stephanie Daniels told the Miami Herald on Monday that the decision to place the officer on leave came after a review of the body camera footage from the roadside incident.

The Miami-Dade police department has declined an Associated Press request for the footage, citing the ongoing internal investigation.

Daniella Levine Cava, the mayor of Miami-Dade County, released a statement commending the department's immediate launch of an investigation.

“In recent years, our nation has confronted important conversations on the use of force," she said, “and the internal review process will answer questions about why the troubling actions shown in public video footage were taken by the officer.”

Hill's teammate, Campbell, was also briefly handcuffed after he said he tried to de-escalate the situation. Campbell said he was on his way to the game when he saw Hill handcuffed.

“They were trying to yank him down to the ground,” Campbell said Monday on ESPN. “I saw them kick him and pull him down ... I feel like one officer was pushing on his head.”

Campbell said he got out of his car with his hands up above his head and approached the scene, informing officers that he was a friend of Hill's. He remained at the scene to “support” Hill after he said officers asked him to leave. Police later placed him in handcuffs for “disobeying a direct order" by being too close.

Campbell said tight end Jonnu Smith and later receiver Odell Beckham Jr. were also there to support Hill, who repeated to them, “Don't leave me.”

Hill, 30, who is Black, said he wondered what would have happened to him if he weren't an NFL star. Some of his teammates who are also Black said they were used to seeing that sort of interaction.

“Excessive force on a Black man, that’s not uncommon," said safety Jevon Holland. "It’s a very common thing in America. So I think that needs to be addressed at a country-wide level.”

Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said Monday he was upset by the situation. McDaniel appeared to fight back tears as he reflected on the incident.

“It’s probably more visceral because, yes, I do spend a lot of time prioritizing empathy, and when you know you can’t truly understand, the unknown is what crushes me,” McDaniel said. "I can only forecast, and so my forecast — what if it’s worse?”

Gov. Ron DeSantis, speaking at an unrelated event in Miami Lakes, Florida, on Monday, said he thought it was “appropriate” for the investigation into the officers’ conduct to be opened.

“I was pleased to see he did well in the game and it was good for the team, what happened on the field,” DeSantis said. “I have confidence in agencies throughout this state that they want to uphold the highest standards of professionalism and if for some reason that wasn’t followed here I know they will make that clear. But I’ll let that investigation take place.”

In May, golfer Scottie Scheffler was arrested and taken to jail after being accused of not following police orders during an investigation of a pedestrian fatality outside Valhalla Golf Course in Louisville during the PGA Championship. Criminal charges against the Masters champion were later dropped.

This isn’t the first off-field incident involving Hill.

He was accused of punching his girlfriend in college and got kicked off the team at Oklahoma State, later pleading guilty to domestic assault and battery by strangulation. In 2019, prosecutors in suburban Kansas City declined to charge Hill after an alleged domestic violence incident involving his fiancée and their 3-year-old child.

Last offseason, Hill was under investigation by Miami-Dade police for assault and battery after it was reported that he got into an argument with a South Florida marina worker, which apparently ended with Hill hitting the worker. Hill and the man later resolved their dispute.

Associated Press Writer David Fischer contributed to this report.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

Miami Dolphins wide receiver Jaylen Waddle (17) pretends to put wide receiver Tyreek Hill (10) in handcuffs as they celebrate Hill's touchdown during the second half of an NFL football game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill speaks during an NFL football post game news conference, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. The Dolphins defeated the Jaguars 20-17. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)