Alabama floods: child died in Marshall County, 2 missing in Hoover, woman resuscitated in Birmingham

A child has died in Marshall County and a search is underway for two people believed to have been swept away by heavy flooding in Hoover on Wednesday night.

The Marshall County Coroner’s Office tweeted early Thursday that a child had died from flash flooding in Arab.

In Hoover, a couple were in a vehicle when authorities said they went down a hill and around a bend and encountered unexpected flooding in the 1100 block of Riverchase Parkway West.

A Hoover police officer was at this traffic blocking location, where first responders had just rescued another woman from the roof of her vehicle. Authorities described the water at that time as “raging.”

The vehicle hydroplaned and briefly landed on a guardrail, before tipping the guardrail into the stream below. At least one witness told first responders that they saw the vehicle drive past their house and then sink into the lake.

“The search for the vehicle continued through the night,” said Hoover Fire Battalion Chief Duane Prater. “Neither the vehicle nor the occupants have been located at this stage. The vehicle is presumed to be submerged. The technical rescue team and the dive team are on scene at this time.

Prater called the flooding “unprecedented” and said some of the areas flooded Wednesday evening had not been inundated for 20 years.

Towns in Jefferson County experienced one of the worst flash floods in recent memory on Wednesday evening.

In Birmingham, police and firefighters carried out numerous water rescues across the city.

In one case, said BFRS battalion commander Sebastian Carrillo, a woman was rescued from her car by police but did not respond. Officers transported her to where the firefighters were, and CPR was performed on her.

She was conscious when she was transported from the scene – 28th Street and 15th Avenue – and taken to the hospital. “I am happy to inform you that due to all the heroic efforts of all of our public safety personnel, this patient was fully resuscitated, conscious and alert prior to her arrival at the hospital,” Carrillo said.

“While the professionalism shown by our public safety personnel is commendable, it is underscored by the need to remind our citizens of the grave danger they are putting themselves and our first responders in when trying to navigate through floodwaters, ”he said.

The Birmingham Fire and Rescue Service carried out 16 water rescues during the weather event.

Pelham Police did not report any injuries, but said they had been criticized by the flooding. Here are the figures released by Pelham early Thursday:

– 281 service calls during active flooding

– 82 rescued from homes

– 15 to 20 vehicle survivors

– 15 agencies assisted in the operation

– 107 rescuers

– 16 boats staged and 12 were in the water at one time

In southern Alabama, near the Florida Line, streets were covered with water in the flood-prone towns of Escambia County, Brewton and East Brewton, inundating businesses with a shopping center with several feet of water.

Up to 3 feet of water was inside the community’s main grocery store, Piggly Wiggly, and two schools had to cancel classes, Escambia Sheriff Heath Jackson said.

“We hope the rain will stop so we can get some of that water… from here and we can start going into these businesses that have taken the water to see what we can do to help them. Jackson told WKRG-TV.

To the south, in Baldwin County, up to 250,000 gallons of sewage overflowed from sewage systems along Mobile Bay, officials said.

More rain is forecast for Alabama today, including areas hard hit by flash floods on Wednesday and overnight.

Some school systems have delayed opening or closed due to flooding.

See also: Birmingham area floods cause water rescues, close roads: photos, videos

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

This story will be updated.