Killer storm system brings flooding to East

PENSACOLA, Fla. — The series of storms that rocked much of the South and Midwest earlier in the week was slowly moving off the coast Thursday after drenching much of the East in torrential rains and severe flooding.

More than 2 feet of rain buried vast swaths of the Florida Panhandle and Alabama's Gulf Coast. Heavy rains also brought havoc farther north. In Baltimore, a sodden retaining wall buckled and sent cars and mud crashing 75 feet onto railroad tracks. A similar event took place in Yonkers, N.Y.

In Florida, homeowners in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties climbed into attics, motorists abandoned submerged cars on streets and rescue workers went without sleep to field a barrage of 911 calls. Emergency crews responded to more than 1,000 calls for assistance in 24 hours, the Pensacola News Journal reported.

Spokespeople for Escambia and Santa Rosa counties have said they do not have official tallies for property damage or casualties.

A gas explosion at the flooded Escambia County Jail in Pensacola left two people dead and scores injured, although officials had not determined what if any impact the weather had on the tragedy.

One woman, 67-year-old Betty Faye Word, drowned when her Mercedes was submerged by floodwaters on U.S. 29 in Escambia County, the Florida Highway Patrol said. County Superintendent of Schools Malcolm Thomas said that Word was a retired employee of the school system.

"It's a tragedy when anybody loses their life, and we mourn with her family and any other families that have suffered loss in this event," he said.

The storm system had swept East after leaving a wide path of destruction in the Midwest and South earlier in the week. More than 30 people were killed in tornadoes and related storms in Arkansas, Iowa, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Mississippi and Alabama.

Rain soaked Alabama late Wednesday even as it tried to recover from Monday's tornadoes. The Weather Channel reported widespread flash flooding along Alabama's Gulf Coast. Nearly 9 inches of rain fell in Mobile in one of the wettest days ever there.

The prolonged weather pattern was unusual, forecasters said, noting that Monday and Tuesday marked the first time in 22 years with 10 or more tornado deaths for two straight days.

But recovery was underway in many areas. Schools were opening, roads were being cleared.

"The great thing about this area is that when we have an event like this we find a way to get back on our feet," Thomas said in Florida. "We saw it after (Hurricane) Ivan, and we'll see it again after this."

Robinson reports for the Pensacola News Journal

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