Boy Killed in Mobile Home as Hurricane Blows Through

Tree was felled by Hurricane Debby in Levy County, Florida
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 5, 2024 12:07 PM CDT
Boy Killed in Mobile Home as Hurricane Blows Through
City workers prepare to remove a downed tree in Oldsmar Fla.   (Jefferee Woo//Tampa Bay Times via AP)

The worst effects of Hurricane Debby are supposed to unfold over the next few days in the form of potentially catastrophic flooding in Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina. But the storm has been blamed for a wind-related death only hours after making landfall in Florida. The Levy County Sheriff's Office says a 13-year-old boy was killed when a tree fell onto a mobile home in Fanning Springs. No other injuries were reported. "One life is too many. Please be safe," said Lt. Scott Tummond, urging people to be wary of downed power lines and weakened trees.

Debby made landfall in northwest Florida about 7am as a Category 1 hurricane with winds of 80mph and has since been downgraded to a tropical storm, per NBC News. The outlet notes that a 38-year-old woman and a 12-year-old boy were killed in a car crash Sunday night in Dixie County, and authorities blamed it on weather from the storm. Debby already has dumped a month's worth of rain—more than 9 inches—on the Sarasota-Branden area, reports CNN. Further north, cities such as Savannah, Georgia, were bracing for unprecedented flooding. (More Hurricane Debby stories.)

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