Hurricane Sally Unleashes ’Catastrophic, Life-threatening’ Flooding Along US Gulf Coast

By Staff, Agencies

At least one person has died in Orange County, Alabama, after Hurricane Sally brought a "catastrophic and life-threatening" flooding emergency that's stretching along the US Gulf Coast, according to The Associated Press.

Sally slammed into the Alabama coast Wednesday morning after gaining strength again over the Gulf. The storm is now moving north, bringing torrential rains and possible tornadoes. Parts of Pensacola are under as much as five feet of water from the storm.

Now a tropical depression, Sally flooded buildings, ripped off roofs and left more than half a million people without power.

The hurricane’s remnants dumped more than a foot of rain over the US Southeast on Thursday, killed at least one person, washed out bridges and roads and left hundreds of thousands without power and others with ruined homes.

Sally brought torrential rains and flash flooding to Alabama and Georgia as it sped toward the Carolinas. At 5 p.m. CDT, it was about 70 miles northeast of Augusta, Georgia, moving northeast toward the Atlantic Ocean at 24 miles per hour, the US National Hurricane Center said.

The hurricane struck Gulf Shores, Alabama, early Wednesday with winds of 105 miles per hour, killing one person. Another person was reported missing.

Some areas were inundated with more than 2 feet of rain. Pensacola, Florida, east of landfall, experienced up to 5 feet of flooding, and damaged roads and bridges limited travel across the region. Some 433,000 homes and businesses in Alabama, Georgia and Florida remained without power.

In Florida, there have been no deaths but 120 people were rescued by state emergency workers and National Guard members with boats and high-water vehicles. Officials were conducting evaluating bridges for damage in the state's Panhandle, said Governor Ron DeSantis.

Utility crews and residents made repairs and cleared storm debris after Sally washed out roads and bridges and left dozens of boats pushed ashore.

Fuel prices rose again on Thursday as six US refineries were offline and OPEC promised to crack down on members that produced more than their allotment. Gasoline futures rose 3% to near the high for the month.

Utilities began restoring power to Alabama and Florida with crews brought from far-flung states.

Sally was the 18th named storm in the Atlantic this year and the eighth of tropical storm of hurricane strength to hit the United States.