Flooding in the South Swamps Birmingham, Atlanta; Child Found Dead in Mississippi, 1 Dead in Georgia

By: Associated Press

Published: April 7,2014

 

 

 

 

 

Severe thunderstorms dumped heavy rains across the Southeast on Monday and caused flash flooding in central Alabama, where crews in small boats and military trucks had to rescue dozens of people from their homes and cars.
In Mississippi, a 9-year-old girl was swept away and killed after the storms dropped nearly 7 inches of rain there over the last two days. A possible tornado in another part of the state damaged homes and hurt seven people, and a motorist in metro Atlanta was found dead after driving into a creek swollen with rainwater.
Strong winds downed trees, power lines and snarled rush hour commutes. National Weather Service forecasters in North Carolina say video indicates a tornado touched down near the town of Belhaven in the eastern part of the state. Authorities say a pickup truck was lifted off the highway, injuring a man and his son.

Alabama

Heavy rain triggered major flash flooding in parts of the South Sunday night into Monday. Parts of northern Alabama were the hardest hit, including the Birmingham metro area, where there were evacuations and high-water rescues.
About two dozen residents of a mobile home park in Pelham had to be rescued from flood waters that were nearly chest high. Others were isolated in mobile homes that were on higher ground because the only entrance into the complex was flooded. Rescue workers also helped several people and pets from an apartment complex in Homewood, where water was up to the windows of some cars.
Dozens of cars had water up to their roofs. Rescue workers wearing life jackets waded through muddy water nearly to their chests to reach stranded residents. Hundreds of more people in mobile homes on higher ground were isolated because water covered the only entrance to the complex.
Alabama Power Co. reported about 14,000 homes and businesses without power Monday morning. That was down to about 3,200 by evening.
The National Weather Service says nearly 4.4 inches of rain fell at the Birmingham airport in 24 hours.
(MORE: Interactive Radar | Flood Alerts | Severe Tracker)

Georgia

In Lilburn, northeast of Atlanta, witnesses saw a car go into a creek and go under. Gwinnett County firefighters with an inflatable boat later found the driver dead inside.
In metro Atlanta, heavy rains slowed cars on the interstates and traffic lights were knocked out. Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport experiencing delays.
The first day of the Masters didn't last very long. Storms moved into the area just two hours after the gates opened at Augusta National for the first full day of practice. Players had to get off the golf course. Fans made a steady stream for the exit. A few hours later, the club said the forecast for even heavier rain meant the course would be off limits the rest of the day. It was the first time in 11 years that the Monday practice was a washout. The gates did not open in 2003 all day.

Mississippi

Recovery crews have found the body of a 9-year-old Yazoo City girl, who authorities say was swept away by flash flood waters.
Emergency Management Directory Joey Ward said Patrauna Hudson's body was located, retrieved and identified about 7 p.m. Monday. He says the child's mother positively identified her. He says the preliminary cause of death is drowning.
Her body was discovered in a drainage canal on 7th Street about 7 p.m., not far from where she lived and was last seen. Earlier Ward said the girl's sister saw her being carried away by the current about 7 p.m. Sunday. A neighbor saw her wash into a culvert.
An EF2 tornado caused damage and eight injuries in Covington County in the southern part of the state Monday morning.

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Pelham, Ala.

An abandoned vehicle sits submerged by floodwaters on a road in a mobile home park in Pelham, Ala., on Monday, April 6, 2014. (AP Photo/Jay Reeves)