Thousands still lack power after Sally
2 dead in Ala. as cleanup goes on
LOXLEY, Ala. — Hundreds of thousands of people were still without power Friday along the Alabama coast and the Florida Panhandle in the aftermath of Hurricane Sally as officials assessed millions of dollars in damage that included a broken bridge in Pensacola and ships thrown onto dry land.
In Loxley, Ala., Catherine Williams lost power and some of her roof to Sally. The storm also destroyed three pecan trees in her yard that she used to try to make ends meet.
“There’s no food, no money. I took my last heart pill today,” said Ms.
Williams, who has been laid off twice from her job as a cook because of the economic problems caused by COVID- 19. She hoped that the Red Cross would soon show up at her home.
Two people in Alabama were reported killed — a drowning and a death during the cleanup in Baldwin County. In Florida, authorities were looking for a missing kayaker who was feared dead in Escambia County.
In Pensacola, Mamie Patterson was cleaning the yard of her cousin who was recovering from heart surgery after they lost power in a low- income neighborhood.
Ms. Patterson’s mother uses an oxygen machine that they took to an uncle’s home to charge because he had power. She saw utility trucks all over the city and wondered when power would be restored in her neighborhood, where several inches of water was standing in streets more than 48 hours after the storm.
“We feel a lot forgotten back here,” she said. “I hate to say it, but it’s the ghetto neighborhoods. We don’t have lights.”
In Louisiana, about 41,000 people remain without power around Lake Charles, where Hurricane Laura made landfall on Aug. 27. On Oak Island, N. C., which was ground zero for Hurricane Isaias on Aug. 3, some rental homes finally reopened by Labor Day.
“It wasn’t pretty. We had piles of sand everywhere, plies of debris everywhere, but the roads were open,”
Mayor Ken Thomas said.
With the dunes that provide some protection to the island gone, Mr. Thomas said people will be nervous for the rest of the storm season.
“There’s a hurricane for everyone out there,” he said.
Escambia County, which includes Pensacola, estimated that Sally caused at least $ 21 million in damage to public infrastructure such as roads and drainage. It will likely cost an additional $ 8 million to restore the sand washed away at Pensacola Beach, officials said.
The year- old Three Mile Bridge that connects Pensacola to the beaches was heavily damaged in at least two places, and authorities do not know how much money or time it will take to fix.