Military bases in the path of Hurricane Debby were moving equipment, closing facilities and warning residents to be prepared as the storm made landfall Monday and started to move across the southeast United States.
National Guardsmen in Florida, South Carolina and Kentucky were prepared to help with storm relief in Florida, where Debby hit as a Category 1 hurricane Monday morning, while the governor of Georgia also prepared his National Guard to respond in that state.
Debby was downgraded to a tropical storm Monday afternoon as it moved north, but the National Weather Service is still warning of heavy rainfall and powerful winds as the storm progresses through coastal areas in Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina.
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Prior to the storm making landfall, at least two Air Force bases moved aircraft to avoid damage.
MacDill Air Force Base, which is just south of Tampa, Florida, moved its KC-135 Stratotankers on Saturday before potentially damaging winds hit, base spokesperson Laura Anderson told Military.com in an email Monday. All other aircraft on the base were secured inside hangars, she added.
Anderson declined to say how many aircraft were moved, where they were moved to or exactly when they would return, citing operational security, but explained that they would come back when “flying conditions are…
