13-year-old boy killed when tree falls on home during Hurricane Debby's landfall in Florida
A 13-year-old boy died on Monday as Hurricane Debby made landfall along the Florida coast, according to authorities.
The Levy County Sheriff’s Office responded to reports of a tree that had fallen onto a mobile home around 8 a.m. in Fanning Springs, Florida, Lt. Scott Tummond told USA TODAY in an email.
Responding deputies and the Levy County Department of Public Safety confirmed the death of the teenage boy who "was crushed inside the home," according to Tummond. No other injuries were reported, he added.
Sheriff Bobby McCallum responded to the scene and spent time with the family, Tummond said.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with this family as they deal with this tragedy," the lieutenant said on behalf of the sheriff's office. "We encourage everyone to use extreme caution as they begin to assess and clean up the damage. Downed powerlines and falling trees are among the many hazards. One life is too many. Please be safe."
Tummond said this is the first death in Levy County caused by the Category 1 storm.
A 38-year-old woman and a 12-year-old boy died in a single-vehicle crash in Dixie County on Sunday night, the eve of Hurricane Debby’s landfall. Witnesses told the Florida Highway Patrol that the car lost control “due to inclement weather and wet roadway.”
'A life-threatening situation'
Debby, the fourth named storm of what is forecasted to be a historic hurricane season, made landfall Monday at 7 a.m. near the coastal town of Steinhatchee with maximum sustained winds of 80 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Steinhatchee, the home of about 500 people, is 10 miles from where Hurricane Idalia came ashore last year.
As Debby moves inland, widespread flooding and inundating storm surge is expected to affect the state of Florida, officials said. The storm's winds, which extended over 25 miles from the eye, have already uprooted trees and toppled utility poles, causing more than 250,000 homes and businesses across northern Florida to be without power.
Forecasters also anticipate Debby's powerful winds to spawn tornadoes while storm surges could get up to 10 feet in some areas.
"This is a life-threatening situation," the hurricane center warned.
Contributing: Susan Miller, John Bacon, Dinah Voyles Pulver, William L. Hatfield and Christopher Cann/ USA TODAY