Storm Fred spawns twisters and flooding across Florida, Georgia

#Florida #NaturalDisaster #StormFred

Storm Fred washed ashore near Cape San Blas in the Florida panhandle
Nearly 30,000 residents in Georgia and Florida were left without power
In-person classes were cancelled in some schools

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Updated: August 17 2021 04:34:54 PM ET Florida, USA

The tropical storm Fred spawned several tornadoes in North Carolina and Georgia on Tuesday even after it weakened into a depression. It also brought heavy rains to the Appalachian mountains, which could in result cause flash floods as far north as upstate New York.

One death was reported near Panama on Monday night. The incident occured when a Las Vegas man’s car overturned in a water-filled ditch while he was driving in treacherous conditions, the Associated Press reported quoting the Florida Highway Patrol.

The storm crashed ashore in Florida on Monday afternoon. It made landfall near Cape San Blas in the Florida panhandle. Nearly 30,000 residents in Georgia and Florida were left without power on Tuesday. Several emergency teams are working round the clock to repair the power lines and clear the trees that were toppled by storm Fred. In-person classes were cancelled in some schools in Florida, Georgia and Alabama.

The National Hurricane Center said Fred had top sustained winds of 35 mph (56 kph) as it crossed southeast Alabama into western and north Georgia. Senior hurricane specialist Stacy Stewart said Tuesday that it could dump 5 to 7 inches (13 to 18 centimeters) of rain into parts of Alabama, Georgia and the Carolinas — and possibly up to 10 inches (25 centimeters) of rain in isolated spots, causing flash flooding in mountainous areas.

Clay Chaney, a meteorologist with National Weather Service, said a local fire chief in North Carolina told the agency a tornado was on the ground in northern Iredell County early Tuesday afternoon. The weather service was also looking into reports of a tornado hitting Alexander County. As many as 14 possible tornadoes were reported across Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina, according to the weather service.

Parts of western North Carolina, already soaked by rain not directly associated with Fred, braced for more rainfall through early Wednesday. Transylvania County, south of Asheville, declared a state of emergency after 10 inches (25 centimeters) fell Monday, causing landslides, flooding roads and destroying at least one home.

(With AP inputs)