In Pictures

The sunshine state is submerged

Tropical Storm Debbie causes widespread flooding in Florida.

Florida is hit by floods. — Tropical Storm Debby formed in the Gulf of Mexico on Saturday.

By Steff Gaulter

Tropical Storm Debby has triggered flooding across many parts of Florida.

Worst hit has been the west coast, from Pensacola to Sarasota, including the cities of Tampa and St Petersburg.

As Debby moves closer to the coastline, the flooding is likely to worsen in the next 24 hours.

The normally idyllic setting is submerged — The storm itself isn’t a particularly intense one, but it’s causing major problems across many parts of Florida.

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The roads are still passable, but only just — The problems are due to the slow movement of the storm. On Monday it was stationary for much of the day. It eventually started to drift a little towards the east on Tuesday, but only at about 5 kph.

Waves crash against the Okaloosa Island Fishing Pier in Fort Walton Beach — Whilst it remains in the Gulf of Mexico, it will continue to throw torrential rain towards Florida.

Cyclists try to navigate Riverside Drive in St. Marks, Florida — In the 24 hours up to 12 GMT on Tuesday, 206 mm of rain was recorded in Tampa, on the west coast of Florida.

Stan West watches as the rains continue to fall outside his restaurant in St. Marks — This excessive rain has not been welcomed across the state, particularly because the last few weeks have also delivered an excess of heavy rain.

There will be no one opting for the outside tables in St. Marks — The grounds were already saturated before Tropical Storm Debby even developed. This ensured that the rain generated by Debbie could not soak into the earth and instead caused flooding.

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Flooding has badly affected many parts of St Petersburg — More torrential rain is expected over the next couple of days, until Tropical Storm Debby finally clears away.

The storm destroyed a section of road in Alligator Point — The storm is expected to move slowly northeast towards the north coast of Florida, but how long this will take is still uncertain, with the different forecasting models, giving different predictions.

The waves crash onto the shore at Alligator Point — It is expected to stay off the Florida coastline for the next 24 hours at least, continuing to throw yet more rain towards the already-sodden state.

Ancient trees in Medart have been slammed into the ground — Tropical Storm Debby will also continue to bring strong winds across the state. Tropical storm-force winds extend nearly 400km from its centre.

Mashes Sands Road is partially submerged in Panacea — At 6GMT on Tuesday, the storm was 150km off the coast, meaning the west coast was already being battered by winds of over 62kph.

Boats slam against a pier as the storm batters Bradenton Beach — A storm surge is affecting the state’s west coast. The land here is very low-lying, meaning the damage will be extensive.

Boats were forced onto the shore in Sarasota — Tornadoes have also been spotted, and there is the likelihood that more twisters and water spouts in the next few days.

A family wade through their neighbourhood in Florida — On Monday, Governor Rick Scott declared a state of emergency due to the broad impact of the storm, stating that, “virtually every county in Florida could be affected.“