Tropical Storm Debby doles out repeat deluges for weather-weary residents

HUGER, S.C. (AP) — Days of rain forced the deluge-hardened residents of a South Carolina community to begin the near-ritualistic task of assessing damage left behind by Tropical Storm Debby, which continued spinning over the Atlantic Ocean and influencing thunderstorms from the East Coast to the Great Lakes on Wednesday.

In Huger, about 15 miles (24 kilometers) northeast of Charleston, Gene Taylor was waiting in the afternoon for a few inches of water to drain from his house along French Quarter Creek as high tide passed.

Taylor saw the potential for flooding last week and started moving belongings out or up higher in his home. It’s a lesson learned the hard way — Taylor estimated that this is the fourth time he has had floodwater in his home in the past nine years.

“To save everything, we’ve learned from the past it’s better be prepared for the worst. And unfortunately, I think we got it,” Taylor said.

A few doors down, Charles Grainger was cleaning up after about 8 inches (20 centimeters) of water got into his home.

“Eight inches disrupts your whole life,” Grainger said. “You don’t get used to it. You just grin and bear it. It’s part of living on the creek.”

The National Hurricane Center warned that isolated areas could see up to 25 inches (64 centimeters) of rain from Debby.

In Georgia, at least four dams were breached northwest of Savannah in Bulloch County, but no fatalities have been reported so far, authorities said at a briefing.

More than 75 people were rescued from floodwaters in the county, said Corey Kemp, director of emergency management, and about 100 roads were closed.

“We’ve been faced with a lot of things we’ve never been faced with before,” Bulloch County Commission Chairman Roy Thompson said. “I’m 78-plus years old and have never seen anything like this before in Bulloch County. It’s amazing what has happened, and amazing what is going to continue to happen until all these waters get out of here.”

For residents on Tappan Zee Drive in suburban Pooler, west of Savannah, Georgia, the drenching that Debby delivered came with a painful dose of déjà vu. In October 2016, Hurricane Matthew overflowed a nearby canal and flooded several of the same homes.

Located roughly 30 miles (50 kilometers) inland from the Atlantic Ocean, with no creeks or rivers nearby, the neighborhood doesn’t seem like a high-risk location for tropical flooding. But residents say drainage problems have plagued their street for well over a decade, despite local government efforts to fix them.

Debby also dumped rain on communities all the way up to the Great Lakes and New York and New Jersey. Moisture from the tropical storm strengthened another system Tuesday evening, which caused strong thunderstorms, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Scott Kleebauer.

“We had a multi-round period of showers and thunderstorms that kind of scooted from Michigan eastward,” Kleebauer said.

As much as 6 inches (15 centimeters) of rain fell in parts of New Jersey in less than four hours.

Emergency officials in New York City warned of potential flash flooding, flying drones with loudspeakers in some neighborhoods to tell people in basement apartments to be ready to flee at a moment’s notice. Multiple water rescues were reported in and near the city.

Nearly 330,000 customers remained without power in Ohio as of Wednesday afternoon following severe storms there, according to PowerOutage.us. Utility officials with FirstEnergy’s Illuminating Company said via social media that power restoration would take days due to the damage.

In South Carolina, Gov. Henry McMaster said his state was just entering Act 2 of a three-act play, after more than 60 homes were damaged but roads and water systems were without significant problems.

“We’ve been lucky so far. Things have not been as bad as they could have been,” McMaster said.

Act 2 was to arrive overnight into Thursday when Debby moves back onshore and heavy rain returns, this time to the northern part of the coast and inland. An additional 4 to 8 inches (10 to 20 centimeters) of rain could fall, said John Quagliariello, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Columbia.

“It may not be as catastrophic as what we were saying, but we still think as these rain bands develop they could sit over the same area for long periods of time, produce a lot of rainfall and a lot of flooding,” Quagliariello said.

The final act may come next week if enough rain falls upstream in North Carolina to cause major flooding along rivers as it flows to the Atlantic Ocean.

The center of Debby was over the Atlantic on Wednesday evening, about 40 miles (65 kilometers) east-southeast of Charleston, the National Hurricane Center said. The storm first made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane early Monday along Florida's Gulf Coast.

A state of emergency was in effect for both North Carolina and Virginia. Maryland issued a state of preparedness declaration that coordinates preparations without declaring an emergency.

At least six people have died due to the storm, five of them in traffic accidents or from fallen trees. The sixth death involved a 48-year-old man in Gulfport, Florida, whose body was recovered after his anchored sailboat partially sank.

In Charleston, South Carolina, the Brown Dog Deli closed early Monday and couldn’t open Tuesday due to a curfew decreed by local officials. On Wednesday the lunch crowd poured in after days of storm preparations and hunkering down. The first words from the person answering the phone were: “Yes, we’re open.”

“We’ve got a lot of locals walking in after being cooped up for two days looking for a good meal,” kitchen manager Liz Denney said.

Some water got around the sandbags that employees placed Monday, but the restaurant has had worse flooding other times in the past year, Denney said. The standing water and the occasional interruption, she added, is just part of living on the coast.

“It comes with the territory,” Denney said.

Collins reported from Columbia, South Carolina. Associated Press journalists Russ Bynum in Pooler, Georgia; Bruce Shipkowski in Toms River, New Jersey; and Jeff Martin in Atlanta contributed.

Keon Johnson leaves his house on his way to work down a street that flooded on Monday from Tropical Storm Debby and still hasn't drained, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024, in Pooler, Ga. (AP Photo/Stephen B. Morton)

James Bartley sits on a folding chair in his garage as he waits for storm water from Tropical Storm Debby recede, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024, in Pooler, Ga. (AP Photo/Stephen B. Morton)

Keon Johnson steps out of his stalled car on the street near his house that has been flooded for three days due to heavy rains from Tropical Storm Debby, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024, in Pooler, Ga. (AP Photo/Stephen B. Morton)

Keon Johnson and his wife Zyla Johnson, left, talk about how to get to work since his house on Tappan Zee Drive that was flooded on Monday from Tropical Storm Debby, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024, in Pooler, Ga. (AP Photo/Stephen B. Morton)

A surfer takes advantage of the large surf as Tropical Storm Debby approaches, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024, in Isle of Palms, S.C. (AP Photo/Mic Smith)

A tree gets cut up in Bay Village, Ohio as storm cleanup begins after damaging winds blasted Northeast Ohio, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (Joshua Gunter/Cleveland.com via AP)

People stand in front of a house damaged after a tree fell on top of it in Avon Lake, Ohio, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (Joshua Gunter/Cleveland.com via AP)

Rebecca Fanning, right, who works for the town of Sullivan's Island, inspects flood waters as Charles Drayton, also an employee of Sullivan's Island and his son McKain, 8, walk behind on Atlantic Ave. as Tropical Storm Debby approaches, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024, in Sullivan's Island, S.C. (AP Photo/Mic Smith)

A resident measures the depth of the flooded street with storm water from Tropical Storm Debby, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024 Pooler, Ga. (AP Photo/Stephen B. Morton)

Nelma Taylor cleans up flood waters around her house in the historic district of French Quarter Creek as flood waters recede from Tropical Storm Debby, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024, in Huger, S.C. (AP Photo/Mic Smith)

A resident walks through flood waters in the historic district of French Quarter Creek as flood waters recede from Tropical Storm Debby, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024, in Huger, S.C. (AP Photo/Mic Smith)

Gene Taylor watches the flood waters around his house in the historic district of French Quarter Creek as flood waters recede from Tropical Storm Debby, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024, in Huger, S.C. (AP Photo/Mic Smith)

Charles Grainger cleans up around his house in the historic district of French Quarter Creek as flood waters recede from Tropical Storm Debby, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024, in Huger, S.C. (AP Photo/Mic Smith)

Charles Grainger, and his wife Kuniyo, take a break as they clean up around their house in the historic district of French Quarter Creek as flood waters recede from Tropical Storm Debby, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024, in Huger, S.C. (AP Photo/Mic Smith)

Charles Grainger cleans up around his house in the historic district of French Quarter Creek as flood waters recede from Tropical Storm Debby, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024, in Huger, S.C. (AP Photo/Mic Smith)

Charles Grainger cleans up around his house in the historic district of French Quarter Creek as flood waters recede from Tropical Storm Debby, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024, in Huger, S.C. (AP Photo/Mic Smith)

Charles Grainger cleans up around his house in the historic district of French Quarter Creek as flood waters recede from Tropical Storm Debby, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024, in Huger, S.C. (AP Photo/Mic Smith)

Gene Taylor clean up around his house in the historic district of French Quarter Creek as flood waters recede from Tropical Storm Debby, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024, in Huger, S.C. (AP Photo/Mic Smith)

Residents repair their roof as high winds from an outer band from Tropical Storm Debby passed over the Isle of Palms, S.C., Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Mic Smith)

Residents repair their roof as high winds from an outer band from Tropical Storm Debby passed over the Isle of Palms, S.C., Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Mic Smith)

Trip Hamilton paddles his friends Brandin Gates, second from left, Mallie Taylor, second from right, and Ellie Combs, right, all from Charleston, S.C., in a canoe down Ashley Ave in Charleston as Tropical Storm Debby approaches, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Mic Smith)

A lawn chair floats at the intersection of Aiken Street and North Hampstead Square street as rain continues to fall from Tropical Storm Debby, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, in Charleston, S.C. (Gavin McIntyre/The Post And Courier via AP)

Colin Fanning the Battalion Chief-Safety and Professional Development for the Hilton Head Island Fire Rescue removes a fallen branch as he patrols the island as Tropical Storm Debby passes by Hilton Head Island, S.C., Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (Andrew Whitaker/The Post And Courier via AP)

Savannah Fire Advanced Firefighters Ron Strauss, right, and Andrew Stevenson, left, carry food to residents in the Tremont Park neighborhood that where stranded in flooding from Tropical Storm Debby, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, in Savannah, Ga. (AP Photo/Stephen B. Morton)

An American flag is nearly shredded from the winds from Tropical Storm Debby, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, in Tybee Island, Ga. (AP Photo/Stephen B. Morton)

A car sits in flood waters near Spruill Ave in North Charleston, S.C., as Tropical Storm Debby approaches, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Mic Smith)

Pedestrians make their way down Montagu St. in Charleston, S.C., as Tropical Storm Debby approaches, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Mic Smith)

Bullfrog Creek, a tributary of the Alafie River, left some creekside homes inundated with floodwaters following Tropical Storm Debby, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, in Alafia, Fla. (Max Chesnes/Tampa Bay Times via AP)

Savannah Fire Advanced Firefighters Ron Strauss, top, and Andrew Stevenson, below, carry food to residents in the Tremont Park neighborhood that where stranded in stormwater from Tropical Storm Debby, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, in Savannah, Ga. (AP Photo/Stephen B. Morton)

City of Isle of Palms councilman John Bogosian calls local officials informing them flooding water on Palm Blvd as Tropical Storm Debby approaches, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, in Isle of Palms, S.C. (AP Photo/Mic Smith)

A neighborhood a half-mile from the Alafia River is inundated with waist-high water after rainfall from Tropical Storm Debby swelled the river, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, in Alafia, Fla. (Max Chesnes/Tampa Bay Times via AP)

Flood waters overtake the intersection of Huger Street and King street as rain continues to fall from Tropical Storm Debby, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, in Charleston, S.C. (Henry Taylor/The Post And Courier via AP)

Trip Hamilton, from Charleston, S.C., canoes down Ashley Ave in Charleston as Tropical Storm Debby approaches, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Mic Smith)

People wade into the flood waters overcoming Gordon Street as rain continues to fall from Tropical Storm Debby, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, in Charleston, S.C. (Henry Taylor/The Post And Courier via AP)

Savannah Fire Advanced Firefighters Andrew Stevenson, front, and Ron Strauss carry food to residents in the Tremont Park neighborhood that where stranded in flooding from Tropical Storm Debby, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, in Savannah, Ga. (AP Photo/Stephen B. Morton)

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Venezuela’s main opposition coalition on Monday called on the U.S. to cancel the licenses that allow Chevron and other energy companies to operate in the South American country to pressure President Nicolás Maduro to negotiate a transition from power.

The appeal came from an adviser to the campaign of Edmundo González Urrutia, who represented the Unitary Platform coalition in the July 28 election, and his main backer, opposition leader María Corina Machado. González and Machado claim their campaign won the vote by a wide margin, contradicting the decision of national electoral authorities to declare Maduro the winner.

“We want them canceled … this is a lifeline to the regime,” adviser Rafael de la Cruz said in reference to the licenses during a panel discussion hosted by the New York-based Council of the Americas business organization. “We want all the oil companies to go to Venezuela. So, it’s not about the companies. It’s about the situation that is impoverishing the country so badly that practically the whole population wants this regime gone.”

California-based Chevron is the largest company to have received an individual permission from the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden to do business with Venezuela’s state-owned oil company Petróleos de Venezuela S.A., better known as PDVSA. The Treasury Department sanctioned PDVSA in 2019 as part of a policy punishing Maduro’s government for corrupt, anti-democratic and criminal activities.

Chevron’s license was issued in 2022 after Maduro and the opposition coalition jumpstarted a negotiation process. In October, the Treasury Department granted Venezuela a broad reprieve from sanctions after Maduro and the opposition agreed to work to improve electoral conditions ahead of the 2024 presidential contest. But as hopes for a democratic opening faded, the Biden administration clawed back the relief.

The White House left open the possibility for companies to apply for licenses exempting them from the restrictions, which could attract additional investment to the country with the world’s largest proven oil reserves. European companies have benefited from individual licenses.

De la Cruz said the González-Machado campaign wants “to find common ground” with oil companies. But, he said, their presence in Venezuela at the moment give Maduro the ability to try to “normalize … de facto dictatorship that he is trying to set up in Venezuela.”

“We remain committed to conducting our business in compliance with applicable laws and regulations, both in the U.S. and the countries where we operate,” Chevron spokesman Bill Turenne said in a statement.

The White House did not immediately comment on the call by the opposition coalition to cancel the licenses. Chevron’s license renews automatically. It was last renewed Sept. 1 and is valid until March 2025.

Venezuela’s electoral authorities declared Maduro the victor hours after polls closed on July 28 but unlike previous presidential elections they never released detailed vote tallies to back up their claim, arguing that the National Electoral Council’s website was hacked. To the surprise of supporters and opponents, González and Machado shortly afterward announced not only that their campaign had obtained vote tallies from over two-thirds of the electronic voting machines used in the election but also that they had published them online to show the world that Maduro had lost.

Global condemnation over the lack of transparency prompted Maduro to ask Venezuela’s high court, stacked with ruling party loyalists, to audit the results. The court reaffirmed his victory.

After the disputed election, legislation was introduced in the U.S. Congress to prohibit American investments in Venezuela’s oil sector and to impose visa restrictions on current and former Maduro government officials. Resolutions recognizing a González victory were also introduced in the House and Senate.

González, a former diplomat, earlier this month departed for exile in Spain after a warrant was issued for his arrest in connection with an investigation into the publishing of the vote tally sheets.

Last week, the Treasury Department imposed sanctions against 16 allies of Maduro, accusing them of obstructing the vote and carrying out human rights abuses. Those targeted included the head of the country’s high court, leaders of state security forces and prosecutors.

Associated Press writer Aamer Madhani contributed to this report from Washington.

FILE - Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro addresses government loyalists gathered at the presidential palace in support of his reelection one month after the presidential vote, in Caracas, Venezuela, Aug. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, File)

FILE - Gas is flared at the Jose Antonio Anzoategui oil complex in Barcelona, Anzoategui State, Venezuela, Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix, File)