Hurricane Sally kills 1, swamps US Gulf Coast with massive floods, ‘unreal’ rain

Hurricane Sally extracted trees, flooded streets and cut power to many homes and businesses on Wednesday as it brought what the US National Hurricane Center called “historic and catastrophic” flooding to the Alabama-Florida coast.

Sally, which made landfall early Wednesday near Gulf Shores, Alabama, as a Category 2 storm, was decreased in the afternoon to a tropical storm as maximum sustained winds dropped to 70 miles per hour (113 kph).

The storm is supposed to have killed one person in Alabama.

“We had a body wash up, we believe it was hurricane-related, but we have no conclusive proof of that right now,” said Trent Johnson, a police officer in Orange Beach, Ala. The person was local to the area, but has not yet been publicly identified, Johnson added.

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) said some parts of the Gulf Coast had been flooded with more than 18 inches (46 cm) of rain over the previous 24 hours, with more precipitation expected as the storm’s winds slow further.

The coastal community of Pensacola, Florida, suffered up to five feet of flooding, and damaged roads and bridges cut travel. More than 500,000 homes and businesses across the area were without power as the storm knocked over large oak trees and cut power lines from poles.

Various residents along the Alabama and Florida coasts said damage from the slow-moving storm took them off guard.

A section of the Pensacola Bay Bridge, also known as the “Three Mile Bridge,” is missing a “significant section,” Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said during a press conference.

The NHC said, the storm was moving at a slow five mph pace toward the Alabama-Florida border but was predicted to pick up speed.

The NHC also said, “the rain is what stands out with this one: It’s unreal,” said Cavin Hollyhand, 50, who left his home on a barrier island and took shelter in Mobile, Alabama, where he viewed the damage on Wednesday. Some isolated areas could see up to 35 inches (89 cm) of rain before Sally is done.

Upon landfall at Gulf Shores, Sally’s winds were clocked at 105 mph. Along the coast, piers were shredded away by the storm surge and winds.

Alabama Governor Kay Ivey told residents not to go outside to check on damage unless necessary and to stay away from living power lines and fallen trees.

“We had strong winds for a long period,” said 38-year-old Grant Saltz as he took a break from clearing trash outside his Mobile restaurant. “Instead of a few hours, we got it for 12 hours.”

In Pensacola, where wind gusts were clocked at 77 mph at one point, images on social media showed significant floods. One witness reported hailstorms in the city as well, and the NHC warned of possible tornados.

Pensacola police warned of high winds and urged residents not to drive around looking at the damage.

“We see lots of ‘lookers’ out,” the police department wrote on Twitter. “It’s reducing our progress down. Please stay at home!”

Electrical crews from other states have arrived in Pensacola to aid in restoration efforts.

Sally is the 18th named storm in the Atlantic this year and the eighth of a tropical storm or hurricane strength to hit the United States. There are currently three other named storms in the Atlantic, highlighting one of the most active Atlantic hurricane seasons on record.

Scientists said Hurricanes have increased in their intensity and destructiveness since the 1980s as the climate has warmed, according to researchers at the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Climate change is also a factor in the increasing frequency of record-breaking wildfires plaguing the western United States.

Damage from Sally is expected to reach $2 billion to $3 billion, said Chuck Watson of Enki Research, which tracks tropical storms and models the cost of their damage. That estimate could rise if the heaviest rainfall happens over land, Watson said.

As the storm moved east and inland, ports on the western Gulf Coast were reopened to travel, and energy companies were beginning to return crews to offshore oil platforms.

Sally shut more than a quarter of US Gulf of Mexico offshore oil and gas production. Two coastal oil refiners halted or slowed operations, adding to existing outages from last month’s Hurricane Laura and pandemic-related demand losses.