Deadly Floods Hit Alabama
Back to listFour people have died in devastating flooding in Alabama, USA after torrential rain.
According to National Weather Service (NWS) Birmingham, Alabama, several waves of slow-moving, intense storms brought estimated rain rates as high as 4-5 inches (100 to 130 mm) per hour late on 06 October 2021. “Heavy rainfall, back-building, and saturated soils resulted in extreme, rapid flooding with rainfall estimates up to 13 inches (330mm)”, NWS Birmingham said.
As of 07 October, the hardest hit areas were in Jefferson and Shelby counties in central Alabama, Marshall county in the north, and Escambia and Baldwin counties in the south.
Two people lost their lives in separate incidents as a result of flooding in Marshall County in northern Alabama, the county coroner’s office said. The victims include a young child who died after in a vehicle submerged in flood water in the city of Arab. Three people survived.
Severe flooding affected Hoover, near Birmingham, late on 06 October where emergency services had an extremely busy night.
“Last night the City of Hoover experienced unprecedented intense rainfall that caused flash flooding in numerous areas. Several of these areas have not experienced flash flooding in the last 20 years. Numerous water rescues were conducted from stranded vehicles in multiple areas,” Hoover Fire Department said in a statement of 07 October.