Floods Cut Part of I-10 as Debby Storms Over Fla. Debby flooded homes, an animal shelter and closed parts of the main interstate highway across northern Florida on as the storm hung stubbornly offshore over the Gulf of Mexico, threatening up to two feet of rain in places. Debby promised to bring more high winds, relentless rain and likely flooding to the already saturated state. It was forecast to cross Florida and head into the Atlantic on Thursday. The storm was about 70 miles west of northwest Florida and moving east at 3 mph. Debby was weakening and had maximum sustained winds near 40 mph, barely a tropical storm. The Florida Highway Patrol closed portions of Interstate 10 when troopers reported several areas of flooding on a roughly 50-mile stretch. Authorities warned motorists to use extreme caution on other parts of the highway. Farther south, four puppies and a young dog drowned when a swollen creek flooded an animal shelter in the city of Starke. Officials placed sandbags and dug trenches outside to protect the shelter, but the water rose quickly Sunday night, The Florida Times-Union reported. A manatee was found dead in the Tampa Bay area and wildlife crews were trying to rescue two others that had beached nearby. It wasn't immediately clear whether the storm contributed to the animals washing ashore. Roads were washed out in the area and residents tried to salvage belongings from flooded homes in low-lying areas. At one point Monday, high winds and flooding worries prompted authorities to close two major routes over Tampa Bay into St. Petersburg. Tiffany Tompkins-Condie/The Bradenton Herald/AP Photo Forecasters were expecting the rains to continue, bringing another 4 to 8 inches across northern Florida. The storm could also bring up to 10 inches of rain to southeastern Georgia. Alabama authorities searched for a South Carolina man who disappeared in the rough surf. Lush contributed from St. Petersburg. Associated Press writers Freida Frisaro and Christine Armario in Miami; Gary Fineout in Tallahassee, Fla.; and AP Auto Writer Dee-Ann Durbin in Detroit contributed to this report.