Rescue, recovery after Hurricane Sally.

PENSACOLA, FLA. >> Rescuers on the Gulf Coast used high-water vehicles Thursday to reach people cut off by floodwaters in the aftermath of Hurricane Sally, even as a second round of flooding took shape along rivers and creeks swollen by the storm’s heavy rains.

Across southern Alabama and the Florida Panhandle, homeowners and businesses began cleaning up, and officials inspected bridges and highways for safety, a day after Sally rolled through with 105 mph winds, a surge of seawater and 1 to 2 1/2 feet of rain in many places before it began to break up.

Sally’s remnants were over South Carolina on Thursday afternoon and were expected to move into the Atlantic within 24 hours. A rainmaker to the end, what was left of the storm was forecast to dump as much as 8 inches in isolated areas in the Carolinas and southern Virginia, prompting warnings of widespread flash flooding and “moderate” river flooding. As much as 8 inches of rain had fallen in central Georgia by midday.

In hard-hit Pensacola and surrounding Escambia County, where Sally’s floodwaters had coursed through downtown streets and lapped at car door handles on Wednesday before receding, authorities went door-to-door to check on residents.

“Please, please, we’re not out of the woods even if we’ve got beautiful skies today,” said Escambia County emergency manager Eric Gilmore. Laura Coale, communications director for Escambia County, Florida, said rescue crews were taking a secondary pass through flooded areas Thursday to see if anyone who declined to leave earlier would like to evacuate.