Weakening storm unleashes floods along Gulf Coast
PENSACOLA, Fla. — Hurricane Sally lumbered ashore near the FloridaAlabama line Wednesday with 105 mph winds and rain measured in feet, not inches, killing at least one person, swamping homes and forcing the rescue of hundreds as it pushed inland for what could be a slow and disastrous drenching across the Deep South.
The death happened in Orange Beach, Ala., according to Mayor Tony Kennon, who said another person was missing.
Moving at an agonizing 3 mph, or about as fast as a person can walk, the storm made landfall at 4:45 a.m. close to Gulf Shores, Ala., about 30 miles from Pensacola. It accelerated to a light jog as it battered the Pensacola and Mobile, Ala., metropolitan areas encompassing nearly 1 million people.
It cast boats onto land or sank them at the dock, flattened palm trees, peeled away roofs, blew down signs and knocked out power to more than a halfmillion homes and businesses. A replica of Christopher Columbus’ ship the Nina was missing from the Pensacola waterfront, police said.
Sally tore loose a bargemounted construction crane, then smashed into the new
Three Mile Bridge over Pensacola Bay, causing a section of the yearold span to collapse, authorities said. The storm also ripped away a large section of a newly renovated fishing pier at Alabama’s Gulf State Park.
Emergency crews plucked people from numerous flooded homes. In Escambia County, which includes Pensacola, more than 40 were rescued within a single hour, including a family of four found in a tree, Sheriff David Morgan said.
By early evening, Sally had weakened into a tropical depression, with winds down to 35 mph, but the worst may be yet to come, with heavy rain expected as the storm pushes inland over Alabama and into Georgia. For much of the day, it was moving at just 5 mph, concentrating the amount of rain dropped on any one place.
Morgan estimated thousands more will need to flee rising waters in coming days. County officials urged residents to rely on text messages for contacting family and friends to keep cell phone service open for 911 calls.
“There are entire communities that we’re going to have to evacuate,” the sheriff said. “It’s going to be a tremendous operation over the next several days.”
West of Pensacola, power poles leaned halfway over in Perdido Key, Fla., as Joe Mirable arrived at his real estate business to find the twostory building shattered, its contents scatted on the ground. Digging through the ruins, Mirable pointed out a binder labeled “Hurricane Action Plan.”
“I think the professionals got this one wrong,” he said before the wind blew away his hat.
More than 2 feet of rain was recorded near Naval Air Station Pensacola, and nearly 3 feet of water covered streets in downtown Pensacola, the National Weather Service reported.