Four people were killed in Alabama Thursday when torrential rains drenched parts of the state, flooding roads and buildings and causing a sewage overflow.
All four deaths, including that of a 4-year-old girl in North Alabama, occurred when high water swept away vehicles, according to the Associated Press and local news reports. The flooding came after a slow-moving front dumped more than 13 inches of rain over most of the state – more rain in one day than most of the communities normally receive in a month.
In Brewton, near the Florida line, a Piggly Wiggly grocery store dealt with three feet of muddy water.
“We’re hoping that the rain is going to stop so we can get some of this water … out of here and we can start getting into these businesses that have taken on water to see what we can do to help them,” Escambia Sheriff Heath Jackson said.
Not far away, in Baldwin County, some 250,000 gallons of sewage overflowed near Mobile Bay. In Pelham, near Birmingham, 82 people were rescued from homes and more than 15 were pulled from vehicles, authorities said. More than 100 rescuers were involved in the effort.
The rains in Alabama had stopped by Thursday evening, but the front was expected to bring more high water to other Southern states. River flood warnings were still in effect in parts of the Florida Panhandle until Saturday evening.
Flooding in places that are not in designated flood zones have become more common in the last two years, leaving many homes and businesses without flood insurance. So far this year, 138 people have been killed in flooding in the U.S. – the most since 2017 when Hurricane Harvey swamped South Texas, the Weather Channel reported.
Was this article valuable?
Here are more articles you may enjoy.
Progressive Q2 Net Income Skyrockets Over 320% 
Project 2025 Plan to End NFIP Welcomed by Some, Rejected by Others in Insurance 
Beef Between Wholesale and Retail Agents Should Go to Trial, Court Finds 
Chubb Q2 Net Income Up 24% to $2.2B 
