At least 4 dead in Alabama after heavy rains flood state

As of Thursday morning, the office had not publicly identified any of the flood victims.

The storm system drifted west at the start of the week and produced slow thunderstorms, some of which eventually migrated to the northern and central areas of the state, where they persisted for several hours, causing the more damage, said Chris Darden, a national weather service. meteorologist in Birmingham.

Although bands of heavy rain have fallen across the state since Saturday, the peak of the flooding was Wednesday evening from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. The worst affected towns were Pelham, Helena and Hoover in Shelby County, south of Birmingham, where as much as 10 inches of rain had accumulated in 24 hours.

Up to four inches of rain was expected on Thursday to inundate already saturated areas, adding to the risk of flash flooding, the Birmingham Weather Service said. But the rains are expected to abate by Thursday evening.

Rescuers waded chest-deep in water to reach people stranded in their cars. Mr Brocato said that in Hoover, a woman was rescued from the roof of her car, which was trapped by water against a dam, teetering on a 30-foot embankment. Another woman escaped from her vehicle after apparently trying to cross a flooded street, he said.

In Pelham, about 20 miles south of Birmingham, firefighters have rescued 82 people from their homes and up to 20 of their vehicles, the fire department said Thursday.

“The water was coming into the car so quickly that I had to jump out the window,” said Jill Caskey, who saw a tow truck pull her vehicle out of a parking lot in Pelham, reported The Associated Press. The car stalled as it tried to navigate the flood waters, he said.

Birmingham Fire and Rescue Services carried out 16 water rescues, local media reported.

Rescuers continued their search on Thursday. In Marshall County, they combed streams in case vehicles were washed downstream, said Anita McBurnett, director of the county’s Emergency Management Agency. They left their boats behind and set out on foot, trudging along the banks where the waters had receded.