Tropical Storm Debby drenches Southeast with rain, high water as it drifts along the Atlantic coast

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — Tropical Storm Debby drenched coastal cities in Georgia and South Carolina, stirred up tornadoes and submerged streets with waist-high floodwaters Tuesday, just the beginning of a prolonged storm that could dump staggering rain totals of up to 25 inches (64 centimeters).

Charleston and Savannah, Georgia, took the first blow, with up to a foot (30 centimeters) of rain falling along the coast between the two cities in just over 24 hours. Police blocked all roads into Charleston’s downtown peninsula to everyone but essential workers and emergency personnel. Dozens of roads were closed in the historic city because of flooding similar to what it sees several times a year because of rising sea levels.

As Debby swirls just offshore, the heavy rain is expected to move north into parts of South and North Carolina that have already seen two billion-dollar floods in eight years.

In one Savannah neighborhood, firefighters used boats to evacuate some residents and waded through floodwaters to deliver bottled water and other supplies to those who refused to leave.

Michael Jones said water gushed into his home Monday evening, overturning the refrigerator and causing furniture to float. Outside, the water seemed to be everywhere and was too deep to flee safely. So Jones spent a sleepless night on his kitchen table before firefighters going door to door came in a boat Tuesday morning.

“It was hell all night,” Jones said, adding, “It was a struggle, but God is good.”

In Charleston, Mayor William Cogswell said the road closures have kept businesses and homes from unnecessary damage and avoided the need for any high-water rescues.

“We especially don’t need any yahoos driving through the water and causing damage to properties,” Cogswell said.

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster said Debby has not been as bad as feared so far, but he warned that the slow-moving storm was far from over.

It will be a nervous few days for northern South Carolina and southern North Carolina, where forecasters warned of up to 15 inches (38 centimeters) of rain. Those totals are close to what the region saw in a historic flood from Hurricane Matthew in 2016. Two years later, many of those records were broken during Hurricane Florence. Both storms killed dozens.

North Carolina and Virginia have both declared a state of emergency.

“The effects of Debby are far-reaching, and our neighboring states are facing significant challenges,” Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin said.

Several areas along North Carolina's coastline are prone to flooding, such as Wilmington and the Outer Banks. Virginia could see impacts including strong winds, heavy rains and flooding.

Debby's center was about 30 miles (50 kilometers southeast of Savannah on Tuesday night, according to a bulletin from the National Hurricane Center. It had maximum sustained winds of 40 mph (65 kph) and was heading east-northeast at 3 mph (6 kph).

The storm was forecast to slowly move out to sea, then creep back onshore over South Carolina on Thursday morning.

“Tropical cyclones always produce heavy rain, but normally as they’re moving, you know, it doesn’t accumulate that much in one place,” said Richard Pasch, of the hurricane center. “But when they move very slowly, that’s the worst situation.”

There will be lulls in the rain as dry spells appear between bands around the center of the poorly organized storm, forecasters said. But some bands will be heavy and keep moving over the same places.

Green Pond in rural Colleton County, South Carolina, reported the most rain so far, just over 14 inches (36 centimeters). A nearby dam had water run over its top but did not crumble, while trees and washouts blocked a number of roads, county Fire-Rescue Assistant Chief David Greene said.

Close to a foot (30 centimeters) fell down-coast from Charleston to Savannah, where the National Weather Service reported 6.68 inches (17 centimeters) just on Monday. That’s already a month’s worth in a single day: In all of August 2023, the city got 5.56 inches (14.1 centimeters).

Tornadoes knocked down trees and damaged a few homes on Kiawah Island and Edisto Island. A Walmart, an Arby’s and other businesses were damaged and several vehicles flipped in Moncks Corner, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) inland from Charleston.

Crooked Hammock Brewery in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, decided to close early Tuesday.

“Flash flooding is super unpredictable, and we’d rather our staff and guests be home and safe,” marketing coordinator Georgena Dimitriadis said.

Far to the north in New York City, heavy storms that meteorologists said were being enhanced by Debby flooded some streets and expressways, stranding motorists. The National Weather Service issued a flood watch until noon Wednesday for the entire city.

Emergency officials warned of potential flash flooding, flying drones with loudspeakers in some neighborhoods to tell people in basement apartments to be ready to flee at a moment’s notice.

Debby made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane early Monday along the Gulf Coast of Florida.

At least six people have died due to the storm, five of them in traffic accidents or from fallen trees. The sixth death involved a 48-year-old man in Gulfport, Florida, whose body was recovered after his anchored sailboat partially sank, WTSP-TV reported.

About 500 people were rescued Monday from flooded homes in Sarasota, Florida, police said. Just north of Sarasota, Manatee County officials said more than 200 people were rescued.

Officials said it may take two weeks to fully assess the damage in parts of north-central Florida as they wait for rivers to crest.

“You’re going to see the tributaries rise. That’s just inevitable. How much? We’ll see,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Tuesday. “It may be that it’s not flooded today and it could be flooded tomorrow.”

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp also warned of more rain and flooding to come, saying, “Do not let this storm lull you to sleep.”

More than 155,000 customers remained without power in Florida and Georgia on Tuesday morning, down from more than 350,000, according to PowerOutage.us and Georgia Electric Membership Corp. More than 20,000 others were without power in South Carolina early Tuesday.

President Joe Biden approved emergency declarations making federal disaster assistance available to Florida, Georgia and South Carolina.

Debby is finally forecast to pick up speed Thursday, and it could move up the middle of North Carolina, through Virginia and into the Washington area by Saturday.

Collins reported from Columbia, South Carolina. Contributors include Jeff Martin and Sudhin Thanawala in Atlanta; Freida Frisaro in Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Kate Payne in Tallahassee, Florida; and Ben Finley in Norfolk, Virginia; and freelance photographer Stephen B. Morton in Savannah, Georgia.

Residents repair their roof as high winds from an outer band from Tropical Storm Debby passed over the Isle of Palms, S.C., Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Mic Smith)

Residents repair their roof as high winds from an outer band from Tropical Storm Debby passed over the Isle of Palms, S.C., Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Mic Smith)

Trip Hamilton paddles his friends Brandin Gates, second from left, Mallie Taylor, second from right, and Ellie Combs, right, all from Charleston, S.C., in a canoe down Ashley Ave in Charleston as Tropical Storm Debby approaches, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Mic Smith)

A lawn chair floats at the intersection of Aiken Street and North Hampstead Square street as rain continues to fall from Tropical Storm Debby, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, in Charleston, S.C. (Gavin McIntyre/The Post And Courier via AP)

Colin Fanning the Battalion Chief-Safety and Professional Development for the Hilton Head Island Fire Rescue removes a fallen branch as he patrols the island as Tropical Storm Debby passes by Hilton Head Island, S.C., Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (Andrew Whitaker/The Post And Courier via AP)

Savannah Fire Advanced Firefighters Ron Strauss, right, and Andrew Stevenson, left, carry food to residents in the Tremont Park neighborhood that where stranded in flooding from Tropical Storm Debby, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, in Savannah, Ga. (AP Photo/Stephen B. Morton)

A car sits in flood waters near Spruill Ave in North Charleston, S.C., as Tropical Storm Debby approaches, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Mic Smith)

Pedestrians make their way down Montagu St. in Charleston, S.C., as Tropical Storm Debby approaches, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Mic Smith)

Bullfrog Creek, a tributary of the Alafie River, left some creekside homes inundated with floodwaters following Tropical Storm Debby, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, in Alafia, Fla. (Max Chesnes/Tampa Bay Times via AP)

Savannah Fire Advanced Firefighters Ron Strauss, top, and Andrew Stevenson, below, carry food to residents in the Tremont Park neighborhood that where stranded in stormwater from Tropical Storm Debby, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, in Savannah, Ga. (AP Photo/Stephen B. Morton)

City of Isle of Palms councilman John Bogosian calls local officials informing them flooding water on Palm Blvd as Tropical Storm Debby approaches, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, in Isle of Palms, S.C. (AP Photo/Mic Smith)

A neighborhood a half-mile from the Alafia River is inundated with waist-high water after rainfall from Tropical Storm Debby swelled the river, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, in Alafia, Fla. (Max Chesnes/Tampa Bay Times via AP)

Flood waters overtake the intersection of Huger Street and King street as rain continues to fall from Tropical Storm Debby, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, in Charleston, S.C. (Henry Taylor/The Post And Courier via AP)

Trip Hamilton, from Charleston, S.C., canoes down Ashley Ave in Charleston as Tropical Storm Debby approaches, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Mic Smith)

People wade into the flood waters overcoming Gordon Street as rain continues to fall from Tropical Storm Debby, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, in Charleston, S.C. (Henry Taylor/The Post And Courier via AP)

Savannah Fire Advanced Firefighters Andrew Stevenson, front, and Ron Strauss carry food to residents in the Tremont Park neighborhood that where stranded in flooding from Tropical Storm Debby, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, in Savannah, 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)

An American flag is nearly shredded from the winds from Tropical Storm Debby, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, in Tybee Island, Ga. (AP Photo/Stephen B. Morton)

City of Isle of Palms councilman John Bogosian calls local officials informing them flooding water on Palm Blvd as Tropical Storm Debby approaches, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, in Isle of Palms, S.C. (AP Photo/Mic Smith)

Amy Tittle holds on to her hat while trying to photograph her son surfing in the high waves created by Tropical Storm Debby near the Tybee pier, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, in Tybee Island, Ga. (AP Photo/Stephen B. Morton)

Passengers wait in line at American Airlines in Terminal B at the Philadelphia International Airport, Monday morning, Aug. 5, 2024, as they deal with cancelled flights to the south due to Hurricane Debby. (Alejandro A. Alvarez/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP)

City workers prepare to haul and cut a tree that fell down near the intersection of Woodward Avenue and Dartmouth Avenue, Monday morning, Aug. 5, 2024, in Oldsmar Fla., as Hurricane Debby passed the Tampa Bay area offshore. (Jefferee Woo//Tampa Bay Times via AP)

Storm chasers check the wind speed near a home on the Gulf of Mexico Monday, Aug. 5, 2024, in Horseshoe Beach, Fla. Hurricane Debby made landfall early this morning. (AP Photo/Christopher O'Meara)

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)

The cab of a tractor trailer is raised from a bridge on Interstate 75 near Tampa, Fla., early Monday, Aug. 5, 2024, after the truck collided with a concrete wall, flipped over the wall, and was left dangling from the bridge. 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)

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)

Flood water blocks a section of Dodecanese Blvd at the Tarpon Springs Sponge Docks, Monday morning, Aug 5, 2024, in Tarpon Springs, Fla., as Hurricane Debby passes the Tampa Bay area offshore. (Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times via AP)

A bench is submerged in water near the R.E. Olds Park, Monday morning, Aug. 5, 2024, in Oldsmar Fla., as Hurricane Debby passes the Tampa Bay area offshore. (Jefferee Woo//Tampa Bay Times via AP)

Water almost reaches houses along Shore Drive East near R.E. Olds Park, Monday morning, Aug. 5, 2024, in Oldsmar Fla., as Hurricane Debby passes the Tampa Bay area offshore. (Jefferee Woo//Tampa Bay Times via AP)

A vehicle is disabled in the flood water along S. 22nd street, Monday morning, Aug. 5, 2024 in Tampa, Fla., as Hurricane Debby passes the Tampa Bay area offshore. ( (Luis Santana//Tampa Bay Times via AP)

A driver negotiates a flooded street in the Shore Acres area Monday morning, Aug. 5, 2024, St. Petersburg, Fla., as Hurricane Debby passes the Tampa Bay area offshore. (Max Chesnes/Tampa Bay Times via AP)

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)

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)

Flooding is seen near homes as The Don CeSar looms in the background Monday morning, Aug. 5, 2024 in St. Pete Beach, Fla., as Hurricane Debby passes the Tampa Bay area offshore. (Max Chesnes/Tampa Bay Times via AP)

Kim Paul, 60, and her dog, Diesel, in front of their Shore Acres residence, as floodwaters reaches nearly halfway up her driveway, Monday morning, Aug 5, 2024, as Hurricane Debby passed the Tampa Bay area offshore. (Dylan Townsend/Tampa Bay Times via AP)

A man walks through storm surge on the flooded road into Horseshoe Beach, Fla., Monday morning, Aug. 5, 2024. Hurricane Debby made landfall early this morning. (AP Photo/Christopher O'Meara)

Carter Grooms, 25, of Tampa, wades through the streets in the Shore Acres neighborhood of St. Petersburg, Fla., Monday morning, Aug 5, 2024, as Hurricane Debby passed the Tampa Bay area offshore. (Dylan Townsend/Tampa Bay Times via AP)

A BMW sedan is stalled in high water along southbound US Alt 19 in Tarpon Springs, Fla., Monday morning, Aug 5, 2024, as Hurricane Debby passes the Tampa Bay area offshore. (Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times via AP)

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)

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)

Slow-moving Tropical Storm Debby bringing torrential rains, major flood threat to southeastern US

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)

Slow-moving Tropical Storm Debby bringing torrential rains, major flood threat to southeastern US

NEW YORK (AP) — James Earl Jones, who overcame racial prejudice and a severe stutter to become a celebrated icon of stage and screen — eventually lending his deep, commanding voice to CNN, “The Lion King” and Darth Vader — has died. He was 93.

His agent, Barry McPherson, confirmed Jones died Monday morning at home in New York's Hudson Valley region. The cause was not immediately clear.

The pioneering Jones, who in 1965 became one of the first African American actors in a continuing role on a daytime drama (“As the World Turns”) and worked deep into his 80s, won two Emmys, a Golden Globe, two Tony Awards, a Grammy, the National Medal of Arts and the Kennedy Center Honors. He was also given an honorary Oscar and a special Tony for lifetime achievement. In 2022, a Broadway theater was renamed in his honor.

He cut an elegant figure late in life, with a wry sense of humor and a ferocious work habit. In 2015, he arrived at rehearsals for a Broadway run of “The Gin Game” having already memorized the play and with notebooks filled with comments from the creative team. He said he was always in service of the work.

“The need to storytell has always been with us,” he told The Associated Press then. “I think it first happened around campfires when the man came home and told his family he got the bear, the bear didn't get him."

Jones created such memorable film roles as the reclusive writer coaxed back into the spotlight in “Field of Dreams,” the boxer Jack Johnson in the stage and screen hit “The Great White Hope,” the writer Alex Haley in “Roots: The Next Generation” and a South African minister in “Cry, the Beloved Country.”

He was also a sought-after voice actor, expressing the villainy of Darth Vader (“No, I am your father,” commonly misremembered as “Luke, I am your father”), as well as the benign dignity of King Mufasa in both the 1994 and 2019 versions of Disney's “The Lion King” and announcing “This is CNN” during station breaks. He won a 1977 Grammy for his performance on the “Great American Documents” audiobook.

“If you were an actor or aspired to be an actor, if you pounded the payment in these streets looks for jobs, one of the standards we always had was to be a James Earl Jones,” Samuel L. Jackson once said.

Some of his other films include “Dr. Strangelove,” “The Greatest” (with Muhammad Ali), “Conan the Barbarian,” “Three Fugitives” and playing an admiral in three blockbuster Tom Clancy adaptations — “The Hunt for Red October,” “Patriot Games” and “Clear and Present Danger.” In a rare romantic comedy, “Claudine,” Jones had an onscreen love affair with Diahann Carroll.

Jones made his Broadway debut in 1958’s “Sunrise At Campobello” and would win his two Tony Awards for “The Great White Hope” (1969) and “Fences” (1987). He also was nominated for “On Golden Pond” (2005) and “Gore Vidal’s The Best Man” (2012). He was celebrated for his command of Shakespeare and Athol Fugard alike. More recent Broadway appearances include “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,” “Driving Miss Daisy,” “The Iceman Cometh,” and “You Can’t Take It With You.”

As a rising stage and television actor, he performed with the New York Shakespeare Festival Theater in “Othello,” “Macbeth” and “King Lear” and in off-Broadway plays.

Jones was born by the light of an oil lamp in a shack in Arkabutla, Mississippi, on Jan. 17, 1931. His father, Robert Earl Jones, had deserted his wife before the baby's arrival to pursue life as a boxer and, later, an actor.

When Jones was 6, his mother took him to her parents' farm near Manistee, Michigan. His grandparents adopted the boy and raised him.

“A world ended for me, the safe world of childhood,” Jones wrote in his autobiography, “Voices and Silences.” “The move from Mississippi to Michigan was supposed to be a glorious event. For me it was a heartbreak, and not long after, I began to stutter.”

Too embarrassed to speak, he remained virtually mute for years, communicating with teachers and fellow students with handwritten notes. A sympathetic high school teacher, Donald Crouch, learned that the boy wrote poetry, and demanded that Jones read one of his poems aloud in class. He did so faultlessly.

Teacher and student worked together to restore the boy’s normal speech. “I could not get enough of speaking, debating, orating — acting,” he recalled in his book.

At the University of Michigan, he failed a pre-med exam and switched to drama, also playing four seasons of basketball. He served in the Army from 1953 to 1955.

In New York, he moved in with his father and enrolled with the American Theater Wing program for young actors. Father and son waxed floors to support themselves while looking for acting jobs.

True stardom came suddenly in 1970 with “The Great White Hope.” Howard Sackler’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Broadway play depicted the struggles of Jack Johnson, the first Black heavyweight boxing champion, amid the racism of early 20th-century America. In 1972, Jones repeated his role in the movie version and was nominated for an Academy Award as best actor.

Jones’ two wives were also actors. He married Julienne Marie Hendricks in 1967. After their divorce, he married Cecilia Hart, best known for her role as Stacey Erickson in the CBS police drama “Paris,” in 1982. (She died in 2016.) They had a son, Flynn Earl, born in 1983.

In 2022, the Cort Theatre on Broadway was renamed after Jones, with a ceremony that included Norm Lewis singing “Go the Distance,” Brian Stokes Mitchell singing “Make Them Hear You” and words from Mayor Eric Adams, Samuel L. Jackson and LaTanya Richardson Jackson.

“You can’t think of an artist that has served America more,” director Kenny Leon told the AP. “It’s like it seems like a small act, but it’s a huge action. It’s something we can look up and see that’s tangible.”

Citing his stutter as one of the reasons he wasn’t a political activist, Jones nonetheless hoped his art could change minds.

“I realized early on, from people like Athol Fugard, that you cannot change anybody’s mind, no matter what you do,” he told the AP. “As a preacher, as a scholar, you cannot change their mind. But you can change the way they feel.”

Mark Kennedy is at http://twitter.com/KennedyTwits

FILE - James Earl Jones poses with his honorary Oscar at the 84th Academy Awards on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2012, in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles. Jones, who overcame racial prejudice and a severe stutter to become a celebrated icon of stage and screen has died at age 93, Monday, Sept. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson, File)

FILE - Actor James Earl Jones poses for photos in Sydney, Australia, Jan. 7, 2013. Jones, who overcame racial prejudice and a severe stutter to become a celebrated icon of stage and screen has died at age 93, Monday, Sept. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft, File)

FILE - James Earl Jones, left, greets the press along with his wife Cecilia, center, and son Flynn, right, at the premiere of "The Lion King" in Los Angeles, June 12, 1994. Jones, who overcame racial prejudice and a severe stutter to become a celebrated icon of stage and screen has died at age 93, Monday, Sept. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Tara Farrell, File)

FILE - James Earl Jones arrives at the American Theatre Wing benefit to honor CBS and Leslie Moonves, Chairman of CBS, Monday, April 11, 2005, in New York. Jones, who overcame racial prejudice and a severe stutter to become a celebrated icon of stage and screen has died at age 93. His agent, Barry McPherson, confirmed Jones died Monday morning, Sept. 9, 2024, at home. (AP Photo/Diane Bondareff, File)

FILE - James Earl Jones arrives before the 84th Academy Awards on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2012, in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles. Jones, who overcame racial prejudice and a severe stutter to become a celebrated icon of stage and screen has died at age 93. His agent, Barry McPherson, confirmed Jones died Monday morning, Sept. 9, 2024, at home. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson, File)

FILE - James Earl Jones accepts the special Tony award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre at the 71st annual Tony Awards on Sunday, June 11, 2017, in New York. (Photo by Michael Zorn/Invision/AP, File)

FILE - James Earl Jones arrives at the Tony Awards on June 12, 2016, in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP, File)