Hurricane Debby Nears Florida With Threat of Major Flooding (3)

Hurricane Debby neared landfall Monday in Florida’s Big Bend region, where residents have fled ahead of a potential week-long disaster across the South.

Top winds intensified to 80 miles (130 kilometers) per hour — making Debby a Category 1 system — and are expected to strengthen further before hitting the coast, according to the National Hurricane Center. The storm will likely push as much as 10 feet (3 meters) of water inland and bring heavy rain.

“This is a life-threatening situation,” Richard Pasch, a senior hurricane specialist at the center, wrote in a forecast. “Potentially historic heavy rainfall across ...