uSally makes landfall near Gulf Shores, Alabama
Director of the Alabama Emergency Management Agency, Jonathan Gaddy, joins ‘America’s Newsroom.’
When Hurricane Sally blew through Mobile, Ala., Wednesday, one of the most unique casualties was a church steeple.
The storm toppled the ornate, tiered steeple adorning El Bethel Primitive Baptist Church, sending the structure crashing onto the roof.
Sally slammed into the Alabama shore as a Category 2 hurricane Wednesday morning, dumping heavy rainfall and creating a storm surge that caused massive flooding from the Florida Panhandle to Mississippi.
The National Weather Service downgraded Sally to a tropical storm Wednesday afternoon, but the threat of flooding remained as it moved northeast toward Georgia and the Carolinas.
The severed church spire was captured by WKRN-TV photojournalist Armondo Moralez, who shared pictures on Twitter Wednesday afternoon and marveled that there were no injuries.
FAMOUS BEACH BAR, YACHT CLUB STILL STANDING AFTER SALLY RIPS THROUGH
Other photographs taken around the city showed largely empty streets Wednesday as cleanup efforts began.
Sparse traffic is seen, Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2020, in downtown Mobile, Ala. Hurricane Sally made landfall Wednesday near Gulf Shores, Alabama, as a Category 2 storm, pushing a surge of ocean water onto the coast and dumping torrential rain that forecasters said would cause dangerous flooding from the Florida Panhandle to Mississippi and well inland in the days ahead.(AP Photo/Angie Wang)
Local authorities had issued a nighttime curfew, AL.com reported, even as the worst of the storm’s effects seemed to have missed the city.
Joe Mirable surveys the damage to his business after Hurricane Sally moved through the area, Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2020, in Perdido Key, Fla. Hurricane Sally made landfall Wednesday near Gulf Shores, Alabama, as a Category 2 storm, pushing a surge of ocean water onto the coast and dumping torrential rain that forecasters said would cause dangerous flooding from the Florida Panhandle to Mississippi and well inland in the days ahead. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
PowerOutage.us, which tracks blackouts around the country, reported more than 285,000 outages in Alabama as of Wednesday evening. Alabama Power tweeted that the “vast majority” of its outages are in the Mobile area.
Sally also hit Florida hard, causing almost 250,000 outages Wednesday evening.
Both states saw significant flooding and other storm damage, and photographs show submerged cars, water-filled streets and battered buildings across the region.
Tropic Isles condominiums are seen after Hurricane Sally moved through the area, Sept. 16, in Orange Beach, Ala. Hurricane Sally made landfall Wednesday near Gulf Shores, Alabama, as a Category 2 storm, pushing a surge of ocean water onto the coast and dumping torrential rain that forecasters said would cause dangerous flooding from the Florida Panhandle to Mississippi and well inland in the days ahead.(AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
In Orange Beach, Ala., just east of where the storm made landfall in Gulf Shores, images show the storm ripped off a wall of the Tropic Isles condominium complex, exposing multiple stories’ worth of bedrooms to the elements.
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Nearby, Sally’s storm surge washed a boat up against a road before floodwaters receded and left it stuck there.
A boat is washed up near a road after Hurricane Sally moved through the area, Sept. 16, in Orange Beach, Ala. Hurricane Sally made landfall Wednesday near Gulf Shores, Alabama, as a Category 2 storm, pushing a surge of ocean water onto the coast and dumping torrential rain that forecasters said would cause dangerous flooding from the Florida Panhandle to Mississippi and well inland in the days ahead. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
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Across the state line in Perdido Key, Fla., Sally flooded the waterfront and tore apart a number of structures.
Among the surviving businesses is the famed Flora-Bama Marina, near the state line, which saw damage and more flooding than expected, but was still standing.
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