Hurricane Debby

Hurricane Debby made landfall in the Big Bend of Florida on the morning of Aug. 5, expected to impact Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina with hurricane and tropical force winds as well as life-threatening flooding.

FLAPDAN (Florida Presbyterian Disaster Assistance Network) facilitated a coordination call on Aug. 6 with the leadership of the six Florida presbyteries and the Synod of the South Atlantic, where each presbytery shared an initial assessment of the impact. The most affected presbyteries are Tampa Bay, Peace River, and St. Augustine. Multiple churches reported flooding in their churches and community.

Update:

Aug.13, 2024:

Hurricane/Tropical Storm Debby has dissipated; however, the impacts of Debby continue to be felt from Florida throughout the mid-Atlantic and Northeast. Flooding remains a significant concern.

PDA will continue to partner with our two regional Presbyterian networks in Florida and South Carolina and our mid councils throughout the impacted areas to discern how best to support the immediate response and the recovery.

The Presbyterian network in Florida (FLAPDAN-Florida Presbyterian Disaster Assistance Network) has facilitated the distribution of approximately 200 flood buckets in Sarasota, Florida (Peace River Presbytery), and Beth-El. Beth-El is a farmworker ministry in Wimauma, Florida (Tampa Bay Presbytery).

Aug. 9, 2024:

SCPDAT (South Carolina Presbyterian Disaster Assistance Team) facilitated a coordination call on Aug. 9 with the leadership of the five South Carolina presbyteries.

Each presbytery shared an initial assessment of the impact from Tropical Storm Debby. All presbyteries reported some degree of flooding, with the worst flooding along the coast. Additional flooding is expected at rivers crest this weekend.  

The Rev. Jim Kirk, associate for PDA’s National Response, has been in communication with the lead PDA contact person in Georgia.  There is some localized flooding in Georgia, where the biggest concern are the dams that have failed or are at risk of failing.

Assessment for the impact for the now downgraded Tropical Storm Debby continues in affected areas alongside FLAPDAN (Florida Presbyterian Disaster Assistance Network), SCPDAT (South Carolina Presbyterian Disaster Assistance Team), and the Synod of the South Atlantic, where PDA has offered denominational support to the presbyteries in those three states.