(CNN) –- The Alabama coast and northwest Florida face a disappointing recovery Thursday, as floodwaters and chunks of debris surround homes and businesses a day after deadly Hurricane Sally hit the coast with winds and rain. .
Rivers have overflowed there, too, with Sally’s remnants still threatening more flooding Thursday as they move into Georgia and the Carolinas.
The system has already left too much misery along the Gulf Coast. At least one person died and another was missing in Orange Beach, Alabama, Mayor Tony Kennon told CNN affiliate WSFA after Sally hit the coast as a Category 2 hurricane early Wednesday.
In both states, including around Pensacola in Florida, downed trees and power lines have made roads dangerous, and authorities have established curfews and used boats and ocean-going vehicles to help hundreds escape. their homes flooded or surrounded by floods.
In Orange Beach, coastal neighborhoods were covered in water for hours after the storm. The Alabama National Guard said it still had five high-water evacuation teams working Thursday in Baldwin County, where Orange Beach and Gulf Shores are located.
“Everything that was downstairs has been lost,” Matt Wilson told CNN affiliate WPMI on Wednesday of his home in Orange Beach, where he and his family weathered part of the flood.
“The windows in our house were smashed at 3 am or 4 am (Wednesday) and the whole house was shaking like a boat in water,” he said. “We ended up leaving the house during the eye of the storm and waded about 1.5 meters of water to reach the neighbor’s house, arm in arm,” he said.
Sally moved extremely slowly over these areas, dumping layers of rain – in some places 60cm or more – that caused extensive flooding for miles.
“We had 30 inches of rain in Pensacola, more than 30 inches of rain, which is four months of rain in four hours,” said Pensacola Fire Chief Ginny Cranor.
«My house is full of water. I have 5 to 6 inches of water in my house, everywhere, ”Terry Morgan, a resident of Freeport, Florida, told CNN affiliate WJHG.
River flooding is also a problem. Parts of Interstate 10 were closed Thursday in northwest Florida due to rising waters, including the I-10 bridge over the Shoal River in Okaloosa County, according to the state department of transportation and the Walton County Sheriff’s Office.
In the Alabama resort town of Gulf Shores, Mike Vansickler told WPMI he weathered the storm at his condo, only to end up kayaking inland later. The National Guard and rescue teams used high seas vehicles to traverse the streets there, while others traveled by canoe or wading.
On Thursday, water continued to hit homes in places like Gulf Shores and Pensacola, and more than 440,000 customers in the two states were still without power, according to utility tracker PowerOutage.us.
Florida resident Tammy Gibbs and her family are staying with a friend who has a generator, a day after police and National Guard troops used a kayak and a jet ski to help them get out from their nearby home. from Perdido Bay east of Pensacola, he told CNN affiliate WBMA.
“She looked out the window at the house and said, ‘Gammy, the ocean is in our yard,'” Gibbs told WBMA, recounting her 3-year-old daughter’s conversation with her grandmother.
Sally was the fourth hurricane to make landfall in the United States this year, the most for the same date in 16 years. It reached the coast 16 years after Category 3 Hurricane Ivan struck roughly the same areas.
Sally threatens Georgia and the Carolinas
Sally had weakened to a tropical depression Wednesday night. Its remnants dumped large amounts of rain in parts of Georgia and the Carolinas on Thursday, causing flooding in some areas.
Flash flood warnings were in effect intermittently Thursday for parts of Georgia and central South Carolina, and flood warnings were issued for large sections of the Southeast. Flash flooding and river flooding are likely in many of these areas, forecasters said.
Trees and power lines were overturned as persistent rain saturated the ground at various locations in the Atlanta area on Wednesday and Thursday, CNN affiliates WGCL and WSB reported. In the Atlanta suburb of Dunwoody, a large tree fell on two vehicles Thursday, blocking an intersection but not injuring anyone, police said.
TREE DOWN ALERT at the intersection of Mt Vernon Rd and Chamblee Dunwoody Rd. Massive tree fell on two vehicles with wires down thankfully no injuries. All directions of travel affected. Expect major delays. #ATLtraffic pic.twitter.com/U7goInWWae
— Dunwoody Police (@DunwoodyPolice) September 17, 2020
Central Georgia could receive 6 to 12 inches of rain by the end of the storm. Central and northern South Carolina could be 8 to 25 cm, and parts of North Carolina and southeastern Virginia could receive 10 to 20 cm, the National Hurricane Center said.
More than 31,000 customers were without power in Georgia as of Thursday afternoon, according to PowerOutage.us.
“We have already seen significant flooding in parts of Alabama from this rain band. Please remember: turn around, don’t drown, ”tweeted the National Weather Service in Atlanta.
A downed tree blocks a school bus and other vehicles in Anderson County, South Carolina, after Thursday morning rains.
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Curfew in the Pensacola area for 3 nights
Florida’s Escambia County, which includes Pensacola, asked residents to stay home so crews can assess roads and bridges. Local police will enforce the curfew from dusk to dawn for three nights starting Wednesday.
“We are still on a lifesaving assessment and recovery mission, and we need to be able to do that job,” said County Commissioner Robert Bender. “We are still evaluating our roads and bridges to make sure they are safe,” he explained.
Crews rescued 377 people near the state line with Alabama and feared many more could be in danger in the coming days, said Jason Rogers, the county’s director of public safety.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said Wednesday that the danger is far from over, warning that “virtually any body of water in Northwest Florida” could see levels rise in the coming days because of Sally.
“There will be a lot of property damage,” he added. “When you see downtown Pensacola, you see 1 meter of water there, that will probably affect all the businesses in downtown Pensacola, there is no question,” he said.
Alabama asked the population to remain vigilant
A boat is washed up near a highway after Hurricane Sally hits Orange Beach, Alabama.
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The National Guard rescued at least 35 people in Alabama as of Thursday morning, officials said at a news conference that included Gov. Kay Ivey.
In Gulf Shores, near where the hurricane made landfall, Doris Stiers assessed the damage outside her beach home. I was stunned.
“It looks like a war zone,” he told CNN on Wednesday. ‘Much destruction, houses destroyed, roofs missing. I have not had any service, electricity or internet. Bad night, “he said.
Wilson, an Orange Beach resident who weathered the storm at his home, said the situation was terrifying.
«In our house the windows were broken (…) and the whole house was shaking like a boat in water. It was scary, man, really, “Wilson told WPMI. “Our dock is obviously gone. Everything that was on the ground floor has disappeared, “he said.
Alabama officials warned that even if the storm has weakened, residents should not lower their guard.
“The storm may have come out of our local area, but it is important to remain vigilant as many areas are still affected by persistent floodwaters,” tweeted the National Weather Service in Mobile.
CNN’s Faith Karimi, Nicole Chavez, Tina Burnside, Michelle Krupa, Rosa Flores, and Ed Lavandera contributed to this report.
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