(AP) — As Hurricane Debby slowly moves across the northern part of the state before stalling over the coastal regions of Georgia and South Carolina, it has the potential to bring with it record-breaking rains, catastrophic flooding, and life-threatening storm surge. Hurricane Debby made landfall on Florida’s Big Bend early on Monday. Near Steinhatchee, a little village on Florida’s Gulf Coast with fewer than 1,000 residents, the hurricane made landfall as a Category 1 storm. The National Hurricane Center in Miami reported that it was traveling northeast at 10 mph (17 kph) with maximum sustained winds of 80 mph (129 kph). Forecasters warned that torrential rain could cause catastrophic floods in Florida and South Carolina when the storm made landfall in one of the least inhabited sections of the state.Officials also warned of life-threatening storm surge along Florida’s Gulf Coast, with 6 to 10 feet (1.8 to 3 meters) of inundation expected Monday between the Ochlockonee and Suwannee rivers.

“There’s some really amazing rainfall totals being forecast and amazing in a bad way,” Michael Brennan, director of the hurricane center, said at a briefing. “That would be record-breaking rainfall associated with a tropical cyclone for both the states of Georgia and South Carolina if we got up to the 30-inch level.”

Flooding could last through Friday and is expected to be especially severe in low-lying areas near the coast, including Savannah, Georgia; Hilton Head, South Carolina; and Charleston, South Carolina. North Carolina officials were monitoring the storm’s progress.

Officials in Savannah said the area could see a month’s worth of rain in four days if the system stalls over the region.

“This is going to a significant storm,” Savannah Mayor Van. R. Johnson said during a press conference.

Debby’s outer bands earlier grazed the west coast of Florida, flooding streets and bringing power outages. Sarasota County officials said most roadways on Siesta Key, a barrier island off the coast of Sarasota, were under water.

At a briefing Sunday afternoon, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis warned the storm could lead to “really, really significant flooding that will happen in North Central Florida.”

The storm would follow a similar track to Hurricane Idalia but would “be much wetter. We are going to see much more inundation,” he said.

Debby is the fourth named storm of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season after

Officials also warned of life-threatening storm surge along Florida’s Gulf Coast, with 6 to 10 feet (1.8 to 3 meters) of inundation expected Monday between the Ochlockonee and Suwannee rivers.

“There’s some really amazing rainfall totals being forecast and amazing in a bad way,” Michael Brennan, director of the hurricane center, said at a briefing. “That would be record-breaking rainfall associated with a tropical cyclone for both the states of Georgia and South Carolina if we got up to the 30-inch level.”

Flooding could last through Friday and is expected to be especially severe in low-lying areas near the coast, including Savannah, Georgia; Hilton Head, South Carolina; and Charleston, South Carolina. North Carolina officials were monitoring the storm’s progress.

Officials in Savannah said the area could see a month’s worth of rain in four days if the system stalls over the region.

“This is going to a significant storm,” Savannah Mayor Van. R. Johnson said during a press conference.

Debby’s outer bands earlier grazed the west coast of Florida, flooding streets and bringing power outages. Sarasota County officials said most roadways on Siesta Key, a barrier island off the coast of Sarasota, were under water.

At a briefing Sunday afternoon, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis warned the storm could lead to “really, really significant flooding that will happen in North Central Florida.”

The storm would follow a similar track to Hurricane Idalia but would “be much wetter. We are going to see much more inundation,” he said.

Debby is the fourth named storm of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season after