ROCKINGHAM — Richmond County is under a flood watch as the outer bands of Tropical Storm Debby start to drop rain across the region.
The watch went into effect at 9 a.m. Tuesday and will remain in effect until 9 p.m. Friday, Aug. 9.
The most recent update from the National Hurricane Center is predicting 8-12 inches of rain from Richmond County and other areas toward the coast.
An earlier forecast was calling for up to 16 inches of rain, with areas along the Carolinas border from Scotland County to Brunswick County expecting up to 20 inches, but that prediction has been changed.
The risk for flash flooding across the southeastern region of the state and eastern South Carolina is at least 70%, according to NHC.
There is a 20-30% chance of the county seeing tropical storm force winds on Wednesday as the storm moves closer.
At 2 p.m., the center of the storm was about 10 miles southeast of Savannah, Georgia, moving east-northeast at 5 mph with maximum sustained winds of 40 mph.
The center of the storm is expected to pass through or near Richmond County between 8 p.m Thursday and 8 a.m. Friday.
Gov. Roy Cooper issued a state of emergency on Monday, before the state started seeing effects from the storm.
Debby made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane Monday morning on the Gulf Coast of Florida and weakened back to a tropical storm as it moved east toward the coast of Georgia.
Click here to read safety recommendations from the NC Department of Transportation.
Click here to read safety recommendations from the state fire marshal.
