Travel plans were left in disarray with almost 2,000 flight cancellations and 6,300 more delayed as Florida braced for Tropical Storm Debby’s arrival on 4 August 2024. Likewise, cruise lines changed in-progress and future sailings as TS Debby was expected to make landfall as a hurricane on 5 August.
The National Hurricane Center reported TS Debby hit the Gulf Coast just north of Jacksonville as expected, flooding Florida and bringing the threat of record rain as it tracks up the East Coast to Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina, affecting some of southeastern USA’s most historic cities.
The Category 1 hurricane brought torrential rain up to 76cm in some Florida areas with flash flooding and heavy winds of up to 105km/h.
Now weakened to a tropical storm, the water surges are expected to last throughout the week, covering roads and low-lying areas. The National Hurricane Center has warned of major flood threats to southeastern US over the coming days.
American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and US low-cost carriers Frontier, JetBlue, Southwest and Spirit were forced to cancel or delay nationwide services to and from Florida due to TS Debby.
The airlines issued waivers for passengers to change their affected flights on 4 August 2024.
Meanwhile, Carnival Cruise Line’s Carnival Elation returned to Jacksonville, Florida from her Bahamas cruise itinerary a day early due to the imminent tracking of Tropical Storm Debby.
Royal Caribbean’s Symphony of the Seas spent an additional day at sea instead of a scheduled stop in Florida and NCL’s Norwegian Sky cruise changed course to Nassau to avoid Great Stirrup Cay and also spent an additional day at sea to avoid Tropical Storm Debby.
Last month, DFAT issued a travel warning for Mexico and the Caribbean due to Hurricane Beryl.
Hurricane season runs from 1 June to 30 November annually in the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico.
