Sally Lashes FL Panhandle: Thousands May Need Evacuation

PENSACOLA, FL — Sally hammered parts of Alabama and the Florida Panhandle Wednesday as a Category 2 hurricane, delivering what the National Hurricane Center described as historic and catastrophic flooding.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSanitis said the impact of Sally has been "severe," particularly in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties.

"Some areas have received up to 30 inches of rainfall, with more coming down throughout this evening," the governor said around 5 p.m. Wednesday. "So far, nearly 600 search and rescue missions have been conducted with local sheriff's offices in Escambia, Santa Rosa and Okaloosa."

President Donald Trump declared northwest Florida a disaster area while the Florida National Guard activated 500 guardsmen along with helicopters and 50 high-water vehicles. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission had 50 special operations group members standing by to provide assistance while another 60 Florida Highway Patrol troopers were also heading to the area. The governor said Florida received help from other states to include Tennessee and Oklahoma.

"We anticipate the evacuations could literally be in the thousands," predicted Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan, whose county includes Pensacola. "If you're in a home that has suffered water damage — you've had a couple feet of water in your home — your utilities are going to be turned off, and you cannot remain in that home, so it will require us to evacuate you if your streets are flooded."

He said a section of Pensacola's Bay Bridge, which is also known as Three-Mile Bridge, was swept away by Sally. The slow-moving system was downgraded to a tropical storm and later to a tropical depression after coming ashore near Gulf Shores, Alabama at 5:45 a.m. eastern packing maximum sustained winds of 105 mph.

Pensacola's Bay Bridge had already been shut down after a crane collapsed on the bridge. Morgan said there were also reports that a barge with a crane on it broke loose and was heading toward another bridge along Interstate 10.

Sally's arrival came 16 years to the day that Hurricane Ivan ripped through the area.

"While it may not have had the same wind effect as Ivan, it looks as though the damage — because of the water and the wind — may be comparable to that," Morgan said.

Escambia County Public Safety Director Jason Rogers said rescue operations were underway in the Pensacola area to assist people who were trapped by the rushing flood waters.

Earlier, Pensacola Mayor Grover Robinson urged his residents to stay calm and stay inside their homes.

"Obviously, there's going to be a a lot of down power lines. There are a number of hazards that are out there," he said in an interview with The Weather Channel.

The National Hurricane Center said "catastrophic and life-threatening flooding occurred over portions of the Florida Panhandle and southern Alabama.

Weather officials said a National Ocean Service water level station reported about 5.5 feet of inundation above ground level at one point Wednesday morning.

A sustained wind of 81 mph and a gust to 99 mph was reported at Dauphin Island, Alabama, as of early Wednesday morning while a sustained wind of 61 mph and a gust to 86 mph was reported at the Pensacola Naval Air Station.

DeSantis issued a state of emergency in 13 north Florida counties: Escambia, Santa Rosa, Bay, Calhoun, Franklin, Gadsden, Gulf, Holmes, Jackson, Liberty, Okaloosa, Walton and Washington.

The governor said more than 130,000 people were without power in Escambia County alone as of Wednesday. The Florida Department of Emergency Management was deploying 175 generators and 100 pumps to hard-hit areas.

"We're working closely with the utility companies. They have crews of linemen who are mobilizing," DeSantis said. "Now, as the storm moves, obviously the winds have subsided some, but they're not going to be able to be out there at 30 to 40 mph winds."

Pensacola resident Mike Dempsey told Patch he and many of his neighbors were caught off guard by Sally.

"We thought it was heading to New Orleans then we thought it was heading to Mobile. Nobody in the town prepared for this," he said. "Nobody boarded up and then it was like a Category 2."