Flood watches are in effect along the Atlantic Coast from the Mason-Dixon Line northward into New England. Rainfall of six inches was reported at numerous locations in Alabama, Georgia and Florida, with a few isolated reports of as much as 10-12 inches. With soils already very wet in the South, this resulted in widespread flooding, particularly severe in southern Alabama. Less severe flooding also occurred in Missouri, Iowa, Tennessee, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and the Carolinas. Heavy rains this morning are likely to result in flooding in portions of Maryland and Virginia.
Few details are currently available.
Waters from Beaver Dam Creek, a tributary of the Pea River, burst through a levee and inundated the town of Elba, AL, as over 9 inches of rain fell there in less than 24 hours. Some 2,000 residents were forced to flee their southern Alabama homes as waters rose as much as six feet deep in some locations. As a result, the Alabama Governor mobilized the National Guard. The area had been under a strongly worded flood warning for four hours before the levee failure. A small dam in Crenshaw County, Alabama, failed early yesterday morning.