Thousands of National Guardsmen throughout the Southeastern coast from Florida to North Carolina have been activated as now-Tropical Storm Debby barrels north, flooding communities, spawning tornadoes and claiming lives along the way.
As of Thursday morning, a total of nearly 4,000 Guardsmen had been activated, Lt. Col. Devin T. Robinson, a Pentagon spokesperson, told Military.com.
Debby’s path from the Southeast and northward spawned multiple tornadoes in several states, the Weather Channel reported. As of Thursday, at least six people have been killed — the most recent death coming from a tornado in North Carolina, CNN reported.
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North Carolina officials announced Thursday that nearly 400 members of the state’s National Guard and more than 130 vehicles were activated for recovery and response to the flooding, winds and damage from the storm.
North Carolina’s activation and preparation of its Guard units follows Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and Virginia’s National Guards work to prepare and respond to Debby’s damage in their local communities.
The Virginia National Guard said in a press release that 130 soldiers have been alerted and began preparing personnel as well as “tactical trucks capable of high water transportation” on Thursday at Guard facilities in Lynchburg, Danville and Petersburg to respond to possible impacts…
