Despite being downgraded back to a tropical storm, Debby continues to impact the local area, with readers around Marion County continuing to share photos of the damage.
As of 11 a.m., Tropical Storm Debby currently has maximum sustained winds of 70 mph and is located approximately 35 miles west of Lake City, Florida. The storm is moving toward the north-northeast at 8mph and is expected to weaken additionally over the next 48 hours.
A tornado watch is in effect until 4 p.m. today, and a flood watch is in effect until 8 p.m. tomorrow. Currently, tropical-storm-force winds extend outward from the storm approximately 140 miles.
This morning, crews from Ocala Electric Utility have been addressing several outages across the area. Many of those outages can be attributed to trees downing local power lines.
Here are some of the photos showing the damage across Marion County:
Officials say that, due to the wet soil, trees may “continue to uproot, and limbs may continue to fall” throughout the day.
As of 12 p.m., there are still over 1,000 residents without power in Ocala, according to the OEU outage map. Readers are still reporting outages in Reddick, Anthony, Dunnellon, Belleview, and Summerfield.
OEU has reported several sites with downed trees in the past few hours.
Just before 10 a.m., the organization reported that multiple poles were broken “due to a tree falling on NE 10th Street power lines between NE 16th and NE 15th Avenue.” At the time, crews were on-site working to restore power and repair that damage.
To report a power outage, call one of the following numbers:
- Ocala Electric Utility – 352-351-6666
- Duke Energy – 800-228-8485
- SECO – 352-237-4107
- Clay Electric – 888-434-9844
- Withlacoochee River Electric – 352-795-4382
If your property has sustained damage due to Hurricane Debby, residents are encouraged to take photographs and document the damage as safely as possible. Make emergency repairs such as covering broken windows and damaged roofs and, if the home is uninhabitable, seek safe lodging elsewhere. To report damage to the Marion County Property Appraiser, file a report at the Marion County Property Appraiser Damage Assessment website or call 352-368-8300.