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Tropical Storm Debby pushed bad weather up the East Coast on Wednesday, moving toward Virginia, which is expected to see the heaviest downpours Thursday night and early Friday.
“We are going to get a significant amount of rain throughout much of the state,” said Jason Elmore, a spokesman with the Virginia Department of Emergency Management.
The south-central area of Virginia is expected to see the most amount of rain, upward of 6 to 7 inches, according to forecasts.
Most of the state is expected to receive at least a couple of inches of rain.
“We’ve been … reaching out to our local governments in cities and counties, seeing if they have any resource needs,” Elmore said. “We’ve been working with our state police and transportation partners to make sure that some low-lying areas, drains and those things along roadways are cleared.”
With heavy, sustained rain comes the potential for flash flooding and other dangerous conditions.
That’s why the Virginia National Guard is standing by, ready to help.
“They will have about 140 of their soldiers ready to go if any need arises,” Elmore said. “Some of those needs may be rescue. They have vehicles that can travel in flooded waters.”
Elmore said the National Guard is “vital” in this type of situation.
“They have a larger number of people that they can deploy to specific areas, and they can activate pretty quickly,” he added.
Tropical Storm Debby has already drenched the South for days as it churned slowly across Florida, Georgia and South Carolina. A state of emergency was in effect for both North Carolina and Virginia.
Maryland issued a state of preparedness declaration that coordinates preparations for the storm without declaring a state of emergency.
Debby first made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane early Monday along the Gulf Coast of Florida.
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.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.