Even though Sally has left the area, North Florida is still under major flood watch from cresting rivers.

After Sally: Rescue, recovery and a wary eye on rivers

BY JAY REEVES, ANGIE WANG AND JEFF MARTIN ASSOCIATED PRESS
Miami Herald

Cars and a motorcycle are underwater as water floods a street, Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2020, in Pensacola, Fla. Hurricane Sally made landfall Wednesday near Gulf Shores, Alabama, as a Category 2 storm, pushing a surge of ocean water onto the coast and dumping torrential rain that forecasters said would cause dangerous flooding from the Florida Panhandle to Mississippi and well inland in the days ahead. GERALD HERBERT AP

Rivers swollen by Hurricane Sally’s rains threatened more misery for parts of the Florida Panhandle and south Alabama on Thursday, as the storm’s remnants continued to dump heavy rains inland that spread the threat of flooding to Georgia and the Carolinas.

Coastal residents, meanwhile, looked to begin the recovery from a storm that turned streets into rivers, ripped roofs off buildings, knocked out power to hundreds of thousands and killed at least one person.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis warned people in flooded areas that they would need to remain vigilant as water from the hurricane subsides, because heavy rains to the north were expected to cause flooding in Panhandle rivers in coming days.

“So this is kind of the initial salvo, but there is going to be more that you’re going to have to contend with,” DeSantis said.

In southeastern Alabama, forecasters warned of river flooding in rural Coffee County, where the Pea River was expected to crest Friday at a near-record 12 feet (3.6 meters) above flood stage. An alert from the emergency manager in neighboring Pike County declared heavy rains had rendered all the county’s roads and bridges impassable.

Flooding in central Georgia forced Robins Air Force Base south of Macon to close one of its entrances and delay the start of the workday for some employees. Elsewhere in Georgia, sheriffs reported numerous trees down and some highways and streets closed because of high water.

At least one death was blamed on the hurricane. Orange Beach, Alabama, Mayor Tony Kennon told The Associated Press one person in the popular vacation spot died and another was missing as a result of the storm. He said he couldn’t immediately release details.

Sally blew ashore near Gulf Shores, Alabama, on Wednesday morning as a hurricane with 105 mph (165 kph) winds. It moved slowly, exacerbating the rains’ effects. More than 2 feet (61 centimeters) fell near Naval Air Station Pensacola, and nearly 3 feet (1 meter) of water covered streets in downtown Pensacola, the National Weather Service reported.

“It was an unbelievably freaky right turn of a storm that none of us ever expected,” Kennon said of Sally, which once appeared to have New Orleans in its sights. Instead, the storm struck Alabama in almost the exact spot where Hurricane Ivan made landfall 16 years to the day earlier.

Sally ripped away a large section of a fishing pier at Alabama’s Gulf State Park on the day a ribbon-cutting had been scheduled following a $2.4 million renovation. In Pensacola, the storm tore loose a barge-mounted construction crane that knocked out a section of the main bridge between Pensacola and Pensacola Beach.

Some Pensacola streets looked like rivers with whitecaps at times. The waters swamped parked cars before receding. At a downtown marina, at least 30 sailboats, fishing boats and cabin cruisers were clumped together Thursday in a mass of fiberglass hulls and broken docks. Some boats rested atop sunken ones.

The hurricane also drove two large ferry boats into a concrete sea wall and left them grounded. Both the Turtle Runner and the Pelican Perch were purchased with BP oil spill money and used for trips between the city and the beach.

A replica of Christopher Columbus’ ship the Nina was missing from where it was docked at the Pensacola waterfront, police said. The ship was later seen run aground in downtown Pensacola, Pensacola News Journal reported.

The storm was a nerve-racking experience for University of West Florida student Brooke Shelter. She was wide awake Wednesday morning as strong winds and rainfall battered her home, marking her first experience with a hurricane. “The damage around my home is pretty minor, for which I am thankful for,” Shelter said. “However, it is so sad seeing how flooded downtown is.”

Sally weakened to a tropical depression late Wednesday and picked up speed. The National Hurricane Center said its center would move Thursday out of southeast Alabama and across central Georgia, reaching South Carolina on Thursday night.

On Thursday, the storm was dumping heavy rains over central and northern Georgia and western South Carolina. The National Weather Service said up to a 1 foot (30 centimeters) of rain could accumulate in parts of Georgia, where multiple flash food warnings were issued Thursday.

Forecasters said South Carolina could see isolated rainfall totals of 10 inches (25 centimeters). Flooding was also possible in portions of North Carolina and Virginia through Friday.

There was also a chance of tornadoes Thursday in southern Georgia and northern Florida.

More than 500,000 homes and businesses were without electricity Thursday morning in Florida, Alabama and Georgia.

At least eight waterways in south Alabama and the Florida Panhandle were expected to hit major flood stage by Thursday. Some of the crests could break records, submerge bridges and flood some homes, the National Weather Service warned. Included in the warnings were the Styx and Fish rivers, Murder Creek and Big Escambia Creek. In Florida, major crests were expected on the Perdido, Blackwater, Shoal and Yellow rivers, forecasters said.

Brewton, Alabama, a city of about 5,200, can expect moderate to major flooding, said meteorologist Steve Miller of the National Weather Service. Silverhill, a town of about 1,200, was threatened by the Fish River, which had crested, and Seminole, an Alabama village on the Florida state line, by the still rising Styx River, Miller said.

Like the wildfires raging on the West Coast, the onslaught of hurricanes has focused attention on climate change, which scientists say is causing slower, rainier, more powerful and more destructive storms.

Meanwhile, the National Hurricane Center was tracking two other Atlantic storms. Hurricane Teddy strengthened to a Category 2 hurricane early Thursday with maximum sustained winds of 105 mph (165 kph) and was forecast to become a major hurricane by Friday as it moves toward Bermuda.

Tropical Storm Vicky was expected to dissipate in the coming days.

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