Flooding still a major concern as Debby moves across the East

Aug. 8 (UPI) -- Flooding is now the main concern as Debby, now a depression, moves across the Carolinas and into New England. Tens of thousands of customers also remain without power.

Residents are both cleaning up and bracing for more flooding after Debby lashed North Carolina homes and businesses as a tropical storm and then made a second landfall on Thursday. The storm also caused record flooding and is expected to produce more.

The storm had first came ashore as a hurricane in Florida on Monday morning.

According to poweroutage.us, 28,175 customers were without power Thursday night in North Carolina. In Virginia, the number was 18,285, and in South Carolina, it had dwindled to 2,383.

The heaviest outages in North Carolina were concentrated in Mecklenburg County, with significant outages in Chatam, Gaston and Forsyth counties.

"We expect this storm to continue its slow, gradual approach, bringing multiple days of heavy rainfall and the potential for widespread and severe flash flooding," North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said in a statement.

The governor has issued a state of emergency.

According to the governor's office, more than 350 soldiers and airmen from the North Carolina National Guard have been mobilized, including swift water rescue teams on standby.

Downed trees and flooding have blocked roads and taken down power lines in the Charlotte area. Debby's impacts, expected to continue into Friday, are being felt across the Carolinas and into Virginia.

"D​ebby's outer rainbands are still spawning a few tornadoes," weather.com reported.

"B​ands of locally heavy rain are likely along and to the east of Debby's center through Thursday night in parts of the Carolinas, Virginia and West Virginia. These bands could lead to additional flash flooding and could worsen ongoing river flooding," weather.com forecasters predicted.

According to the National Hurricane Center, Debby moved further inland Thursday over South Carolina, creating major flood threats for parts of the Carolinas and western Virginia.

"The combination of storm surge and tide will cause normally dry areas near the coast to be flooded by rising waters moving inland from the shoreline," the NHC said in a statement. "Debby is expected to produce an additional 3 to 6 inches of rainfall with locally higher amounts, across portions of southeastern North Carolina leading to maximum storm total amounts as high as 15 inches."

Other possible impacts include tornadoes as flash floods, overflowing rivers and storm surges hit the the Carolinas and Virginia.

The NHC said Debby's second landfall happened near Bulls Bay, roughly 30 miles from Charleston.