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The storm weakened as expected when it made landfall, and on Wednesday night Swedish time, news came that the US hurricane center NHC downgraded Sally from a Category 2 hurricane to a tropical storm.
However, this does not mean that the danger has passed.
“Historic and catastrophic “Floods are occurring in parts of northwest Florida and southern Alabama,” the NHC wrote on Twitter, adding that there remains a “severe flood threat” as the storm moves inland.
On Thursday and Friday, the state of Georgia and possibly South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia are also expected to be affected.
Over the last 24 hours, up to 480 millimeters of rain have fallen on the south coast. The floods got even worse when Sally hit the ocean waves.
Among the most affected cities is the resort of Pensacola, Florida, where streets and squares have been submerged.
“The number of flooded roads and intersections, along with dangerous debris, has become too great to list,” local police reported on Twitter.
Wind speeds of 45 meters per second It was measured when Sally made landfall and in total more than 500,000 homes and businesses in the affected area have been without power since the trees blew over the power lines.
Almost 11,000 homes are in danger of being destroyed when Sally retires, and governors in four states have warned residents that they can leave their homes, even in places where no evacuation orders have been issued.
“I urge you, in the strongest terms, to evacuate and seek shelter if you have the opportunity,” said Alabama Governor Kay Ivey, who already declared a state of emergency on Monday, according to the AFP news agency.
Sally has moved more slowly that an average hurricane or storm, at a point just before making landfall, the speed was just over two miles per hour. This increases the risks for the places that are hit first because the storm stays longer in each place.
“This one is slow,” Mobile Alabama restaurant owner Grant Saltz told Reuters as he tried to clarify the devastation left by the storm.
– The strong winds lasted a long time. Instead of a few hours, we had the storm for twelve hours.
