- Only 12 trucks delivered food, water in North Gaza Governorate since October: Oxfam
- Langers edge Tiger and son Charlie in PNC Championship playoff
- Explosive batsman Jacobs gets New Zealand call-up for Sri Lanka series
- Holders PSG edge through on penalties in French Cup
- Daniels throw five TDs as Commanders down Eagles
- Atalanta fight back to take top spot in Serie A, Roma hit five
- Mancini admits regrets over leaving Italy for Saudi Arabia
- Run machine Ayub shines as Pakistan sweep South Africa
- Slovak PM Fico on surprise visit to Kremlin
- 'Incredible' Liverpool must stay focused: Slot
- Maresca 'absolutely happy' as title-chasing Chelsea drop points in Everton draw
- Salah happy wherever career ends after inspiring Liverpool rout
- Three and easy as Dortmund move into Bundesliga top six
- Liverpool hit Spurs for six, Man Utd embarrassed by Bournemouth
- Netanyahu vows to act with 'force, determination' against Yemen's Huthis
- Ali hat-trick helps champions Ahly crush Belouizdad
- Salah stars as rampant Liverpool hit Spurs for six
- Syria's new leader says all weapons to come under 'state control'
- 'Sonic 3' zips to top of N.America box office
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- Mbappe strikes as Real Madrid down Sevilla
- Pope again condemns 'cruelty' of Israeli strikes on Gaza
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- Troubled Man Utd humiliated by Bournemouth
- 2 US pilots shot down over Red Sea in 'friendly fire' incident: military
- Man Utd embarrassed by Bournemouth, Chelsea held at Everton
- France awaits fourth government of the year
- Death toll in Brazil bus crash rises to 41
- Odermatt stays hot to break Swiss World Cup wins record
- Neville says Rashford's career at Man Utd nearing 'inevitable ending'
- Syria's new leader vows not to negatively interfere in Lebanon
- Germany pledges security inquest after Christmas market attack
- Putin vows 'destruction' on Ukraine after Kazan drone attack
- Understated Usyk seeks recognition among boxing legends
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- Stokes out of England's Champions Trophy squad
- Gaza rescuers say Israeli strikes kill 28
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- Angry questions in Germany after Christmas market attack
- China's Zheng pulls out of season-opening United Cup
- Minorities fear targeted attacks in post-revolution Bangladesh
- Tatum's 43-point triple-double propels Celtics over Bulls
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- Large earthquake hits battered Vanuatu
- Beaten Fury says Usyk got 'Christmas gift' from judges
Debby now a hurricane, threatens Florida, other parts of US southeast
Debby strengthened into a hurricane late Sunday as it bore down on Florida's Gulf Coast with potential for history-making levels of rain and major flooding, prompting evacuation orders.
Debby grew rapidly into a Category One hurricane, the lowest on a five-stage scale, thanks to unusually warm Gulf of Mexico and is expected to slam into Florida's Big Bend region around mid-day Monday.
The National Hurricane Center warned there is a danger of life-threatening storm surges along Florida's Gulf Coast with six to 10 feet (1.8 to 3.0 meters) of inundation above ground level in some areas.
The storm will probably cause catastrophic flooding with "potentially historic heavy rainfall" when Debby moves northeast across Georgia and South Carolina over the next few days, the NHC said.
"We are looking at potentially really, really significant flooding that will happen, particularly in north-central Florida," Governor Ron DeSantis told an emergency briefing on the storm Sunday.
He and NHC deputy director Jamie Rhome have stressed that Floridians should be making and completing their final emergency preparations immediately.
As of 11:00 pm (2100 GMT), Debby was about 100 miles (160 kilometers) west of Tampa carrying maximum sustained winds of 75 miles per hour and moving north at 12 miles per hour, the advisory said.
As residents rushed to prepare, mandatory evacuations were ordered for part of Citrus County, Florida, with eight other counties under voluntary evacuation orders, local media reported.
"Take the situation seriously," Paul Hasenmeier, Hernando County fire chief and public safety director, told reporters late Saturday. "We know the water's going to come up as the storm passes."
Debby is expected to dump six to 12 inches of rain in parts of Florida, and as much as 20 to 30 inches in coastal Georgia and South Carolina before the week is over, the NHC said.
The governors of Georgia and South Carolina have declared a state of emergency ahead of the storm's arrival.
Brennan predicted "multiple days of very, very heavy rainfall" -- at possibly record-breaking levels. He said there likely will be severe flash flooding "in areas that don't normally flood."
President Joe Biden on Sunday approved an emergency declaration for Florida, allowing federal aid to be expedited.
DeSantis has activated the state's National Guard, with 3,000 service members on standby to help with storm response.
C.Amaral--PC