Tropical storm Debby makes second US landfall

New York: Tropical storm Debby made its second landfall in the United States in the early hours of Thursday and continued to move northward, according to the country's National Hurricane Centre.

Debby landed near Bulls Bay in South Carolina as a Category 1 hurricane with a maximum sustained wind speed of 50 miles per hour and moved slowly inland with a speed of around 5 miles per hour, said the centre.

The tropical storm first landed near the coastal town of Steinhatchee in Florida on Monday and has dumped over a foot of rain over parts of Florida, Georgia and South Carolina, killing at least six people.

Debby is expected to pick up speed and move across the U.S. Mid-Atlantic and Northeast on Friday and Atlantic Canada on Saturday, according to the latest advisory by the National Hurricane Centre, Xinhua news agency reported.

A large tornado in central North Carolina was confirmed shortly after Debby's second landing.

Debby is expected to dump an additional three to nine inches of rain, and flash flood warnings have been issued for parts of South Carolina and North Carolina until noon on Thursday.

US President Joe Biden has approved disaster declarations for Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina to deal with Debby's impacts.