Debby expected to drench Sampson; State of Emergency issued for county

As Tropical Storm Debby makes its way into North Carolina, county officials, along with meteorologists, are warning residents to prepare for torrential rains, possible flooding and all the after effects that will cause.

On Wednesday morning, the Sampson County Board of Commissioners issued a State of Emergency declaration for the county, as the center of Debby moved into the Carolinas.

The declaration expressed “increased confidence that the southernmost portion of Sampson County will experience flooding conditions that will pose a significant danger to life and property, including river flooding.”

The National Hurricane Center anticipates that Tropical Storm Debby will make landfall on the North Carolina coast and impact Sampson County within the next 24 to 48 hours. The declaration cites weather conditions, including strong winds, potential flooding and possible tornadoes, that “pose an imminent threat to widespread or severe damage, injury or loss of life or property.”

The National Weather Service is advising everyone to take this storm as serious as a hurricane, due to the slow moving nature and heavy amounts of rainfall expected.

Debby is expected to drop anywhere from 12-15 inches of rain across Sampson and surrounding areas, drenching the central and eastern parts of the state with continuous downpours through Friday.

By press time Tuesday, some parts of Sampson had already received several inches of rain, as off and on showers moved over the area.

That is expected to continue today as outer bands of rain are being pushed into the region.

“We are already starting to see some light outer rain bands associated with this storm,” said National Weather Service Meteorologist Aaron Swiggett Tuesday. “This is the beginning of moderate to heavy rain bands moving in that will become more persistent as the storm moves in this week.”

At Monday night’s Sampson County Board of Commissioners meeting, Lance Eason, highway maintenance engineer with the N.C. Department of Transportation, assured the board preparation for the storm was being done.

“Sampson maintenance is ready to go. We prepared (Monday), got a lot of equipment together, got our trucks together and went out and purchased a few more chainsaws to get those trees out of the road as fast as we can.

“You might see some high-water signs; you might see some barricades. We’re going to be out getting those up as quick as we can and putting it in our system that alerts people’s phones like Google Maps and Apple Maps, so you know not to go there,” Eason stressed. “If that road says closed the next few days, the best thing to do is turn around and not try to go through it.”

County officials were meeting Tuesday to get weather updates and could not provide further information before press time.

According to the NWS the center of Tropical Storm Debby will move into Sampson County Thursday, but Swiggett advised residents to take precaution as early as today, when the actual flooding is expected to cause issues, many of which will continue through the weekend.

“Our main concern is the significant amount of rainfall with considerable amounts of flash and urban flooding, as well as river flooding,” he stressed.

Swiggett advised residents to have an updated hurricane preparedness kit, including any medication refilled beforehand, and bottled water and food readily available to avoid going out onto flooded roadways.

“One of the biggest fatalities due to storms like this is due to flooding,” he said. “It’s the easiest way to prevent endangering your life by staying home to avoid flooded roadways.”

According to The National Weather Service, nearly 40 percent of drownings and 80 percent of property damage occurs with rain impacts such as what is expected to come from Debby.

“Flooding is our main concern, however, we are also concerned about the possibility of a few trees down and isolated tornadoes as this system moves through our area,” added Meteorologist Jonathan Blaes.

The National Weather Service expects Debby to move out of the area by Friday evening, as it heads into Virginia by the weekend.

For more information on Tropical Storm Debby as it moves through our area, please visit weather.gov .