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Debby Pours More than a Foot of Rain on Coastal Georgia, South Carolina

A street is flooded by Tropical Storm Debby on August 6, 2024 in Savannah, Georgia. (Getty Images/AFP)
A street is flooded by Tropical Storm Debby on August 6, 2024 in Savannah, Georgia. (Getty Images/AFP)
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Debby Pours More than a Foot of Rain on Coastal Georgia, South Carolina

A street is flooded by Tropical Storm Debby on August 6, 2024 in Savannah, Georgia. (Getty Images/AFP)
A street is flooded by Tropical Storm Debby on August 6, 2024 in Savannah, Georgia. (Getty Images/AFP)

Tropical Storm Debby inundated coastal Georgia and South Carolina with a deluge of rain that could flood Charleston, Savannah and other cities on Tuesday, a day after it slammed into Florida's Gulf Coast as a hurricane.

At least six people have died in Florida and Georgia in the wake of the storm, which is expected to linger over the southeastern and mid-Atlantic coasts for days.

Between 10 inches (25 cm) and 20 inches (51 cm) of rain was expected to fall along parts of Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina through Friday and cause catastrophic flooding, the National Hurricane Center said. The governors of those states have declared states of emergency.

Cedrick King, a businessman from coastal Brunswick, Georgia, said he and his family packed up their belongings on Tuesday and were ready to make the five-hour drive to Atlanta.

"We're headed north, far away from this storm," he said.

The storm featured 45 mile-per-hour (72 km per hour) winds as it moved slowly just south of Savannah, Georgia, early on Tuesday morning. Heavy rainfall could cause flooding in parts of the mid-Atlantic through Sunday, the center said.

More than 8 inches (20 cm) of rain have already fallen on Savannah and Valdosta, Georgia, the National Weather Service said. Charleston and Hilton Head, South Carolina, have received between 10 and 12 inches (25 and 30 cm) of rain so far, the weather service said, with more on the way.

Charleston Mayor William Cogswell said more than 2 feet (61 cm) of rain is expected in his city before the storm passes. Even at low tide, storm surges of between 4 and 6 feet (1.2 and 1.8 meters) will prevent floodwaters from draining into the sea, he said.

There are "not enough pumps in the world" to handle that much rain, Cogswell said late on Monday. He has since extended a citywide curfew until Wednesday morning.

"Nobody should be out on the streets in these conditions unless it is an absolute emergency," the mayor said.

About 50 miles (80 km) west of Charleston, fears of a breach at the McGrady Dam in Colleton County, part of the state's Lowcountry, prompted the county sheriff's office to warn residents to evacuate immediately on Tuesday morning.

Debby made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane in the Big Bend region of Florida's Gulf Coast on Monday morning, dumping 8 to 16 inches (20 to 41 cm) of rain in parts of central Florida, according to local reports. The storm has been blamed for five deaths in Florida and one near Valdosta, Georgia.

Nearly 110,000 customers were without power in Florida as of Tuesday morning, according to poweroutage.us, down from a peak of 350,000 on Monday. And more than 17,000 were without power in Georgia. Hundreds of flights to and from the state were canceled.

Weather conditions could spawn tornadoes as well, according to the National Hurricane Center. A suspected twister flipped over cars and damaged restaurants in Moncks Corner, South Carolina, about 30 miles (48 km) north of Charleston, early Tuesday morning. Mayor Thomas Hamilton Jr. said there were minor injuries.

The hurricane center said Debby would slow down and move east and off Georgia's shore on Tuesday before turning north and drifting inland over South Carolina near Charleston on Thursday.

Vice President Kamala Harris postponed a presidential campaign stop scheduled this week in Savannah, the Savannah Morning News reported.

Savannah Mayor Van Johnson said the city could expect a "once in a thousand year" rain event.

"This will literally create islands in the city," Johnson said.

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Microplastics Are Everywhere, but Are They Harming Us?

A blue rectangular piece of microplastic sits on the finger of a researcher with the University of Washington-Tacoma environmental science program, after it was found in debris collected from the Thea Foss Waterway, in Tacoma, Wash., on May 19, 2010. (AP)
A blue rectangular piece of microplastic sits on the finger of a researcher with the University of Washington-Tacoma environmental science program, after it was found in debris collected from the Thea Foss Waterway, in Tacoma, Wash., on May 19, 2010. (AP)
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Microplastics Are Everywhere, but Are They Harming Us?

A blue rectangular piece of microplastic sits on the finger of a researcher with the University of Washington-Tacoma environmental science program, after it was found in debris collected from the Thea Foss Waterway, in Tacoma, Wash., on May 19, 2010. (AP)
A blue rectangular piece of microplastic sits on the finger of a researcher with the University of Washington-Tacoma environmental science program, after it was found in debris collected from the Thea Foss Waterway, in Tacoma, Wash., on May 19, 2010. (AP)

Microplastics have been found in the ocean and the air, in our food and water. They have been found in a wide range of body tissues, including the heart, liver and kidneys.

But are they actually harming you?

Evidence suggests they might, but it's limited in scope. Some researchers are worried, but acknowledge there are lots of unanswered questions.

Dr. Marya Zlatnik, a San Francisco-based obstetrician who has studied environmental toxins and pregnancy, has seen studies raising concerns about microplastics' impact on the health of babies and adults.

But it's a young research field, and it's not something she generally discusses with patients.

"I'm not entirely sure what to say yet," Zlatnik said.

Here's a look at what's known so far:

WHAT ARE MICROPLASTICS?

Plastics are man-made materials — many of them derived from oil or other petroleum products. They can break down into smaller particles, through exposure to heat and weather and even animal digestion.

Researchers have increasingly been interested in microplastics, which can be as wide as a pencil eraser or as small as a fraction of the width of a human hair. Nanoplastics, another area of study, are even smaller.

These minuscule plastics have been detected in air, water and soil, in milk, and in bottled and tap drinking water. They also have been found in a variety of foods, including salt, sugar, honey, rice and seafood.

ARE THERE MICROPLASTICS IN YOU?

Most likely yes.

There is scientific debate about how much people inhale and ingest, and it can vary on what they eat and drink and where they live, researchers say.

Some Australian researchers, on behalf of the World Wildlife Fund, calculated in 2019 that many people each week consume roughly 5 grams of plastic from common food and beverages — the equivalent of a credit card. That estimate is not universally embraced by researchers, but is commonly mentioned in news articles.

Researchers are still trying to understand exposure levels, but study after study is finding signs of plastics in body tissues.

"Microplastics have been measured in pretty much all of the body tissues that have been evaluated," said Tracey Woodruff, a University of California at San Francisco researcher. Scientists have even reported finding them in the penis, in ovaries and in placentas.

WILL MICROPLASTICS HURT YOU?

That's still being sorted out.

A 2022 World Health Organization report concluded there was no clear risk to human health, based on the available evidence.

There’s also not an obvious signal of widespread public health impact, at least in terms of mortality. Cancer, heart disease and stroke death rates have been falling, not rising.

But researchers only started measuring plastics in the human body — and trying to assess the health effects — in recent years. Some of that work is only coming to fruition now.

It makes sense that microplastics are harmful because they contain toxic chemicals, said Woodruff, who was part of a team that reviewed nearly 2,000 studies about microplastics at the request of California legislators. It may be, for example, that microplastics play a role in rising occurrences of some cancers in younger people, she said.

Available information indicates plastics can spark inflammation and cause other problematic changes in the body that can, for example, raise the risk of heart attack and stroke.

A small study in the New England Journal of Medicine earlier this year suggested, but did not prove, that patients with evidence of plastics in their arteries were at greater risk of death from heart attacks and strokes. But an expert not involved in the research suggested the study may have overstated any effects.

"Even though there’s a lot we still don’t know about microplastic particles and the harm they cause to humans, the information that is available today is in my mind very concerning," said Dr. Philip Landrigan, of Boston College.

WHAT CAN YOU DO ABOUT MICROPLASTICS?

There are ways to reduce potential microplastics exposure, researchers say.

Take your shoes off before you go in the house, to avoid tracking in plastics-laden dust (not to mention germs, dirt and other debris) throughout your home.

Eat foods — especially fresh fruits and vegetables — that you prepare in the home.

Don’t microwave a meal in a plastic tray, no matter what TV dinner instructions might say, Woodruff said.

And opt for reusable stainless steel or glass water bottles, rather than disposable plastic ones, she added.

Zlatnik, the obstetrician, noted that families with limited incomes may have bigger things to worry about.

"If someone is worried about where their next meal is going to come from, I'm not going to give them advice to keep their leftovers in glass containers and to not microwave in plastic," she said.