Official: Crash, “Likely” Due to Storm, Kills 10 in Alabama

ATLANTA —  An official tells local media that 10 people – including nine children – are dead after a two-vehicle crash in storm-drenched Alabama. Butler County Coroner Wayne Garlock says did not release the names of the victims in Saturday’s crash but said that vehicles likely hydroplaned on wet roads. Butler County Sheriff Danny Bond said multiple people were also injured. It was not clear how many were injured. A tropical storm swept across the southeastern U.S. on Saturday, causing flash flooding and spurring tornadoes that destroyed dozens of homes.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

Tropical Depression Claudette claimed two lives in Alabama as the storm continued to produce heavy rains across much of the southeast and threaten the North Carolina coast.

A 24-year-old man and a 3-year-old boy were killed Saturday when a tree fell on their house just outside the Tuscaloosa city limits, Capt. Marty Sellers of the Tuscaloosa Violent Crimes Unit told The Tuscaloosa News. Sellers did not immediately identify the victims and a medical examiner could not be reached early Sunday.

The two died as drenching rains pelted much of northern Alabama and Georgia late Saturday. As much as 12 inches (30 centimeters) of rain was reported earlier from Claudette along the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

A tropical storm warning was in effect in North Carolina from the Little River Inlet to the town of Duck on the Outer Banks. A tropical storm watch was issued South Santee River, South Carolina, to the Little River Inlet, forecasters said.

Top winds remained near 30 mph (45 kph) National Hurricane Center forecasters predicted Claudette would strengthen back to tropical storm status Monday over eastern North Carolina as it went out to sea in the Atlantic Ocean.

Flash flood watches on Sunday were posted for northern Georgia, most of South Carolina, the North Carolina coast and parts of southeast Alabama and the Florida Panhandle.

More than 20 people were rescued by boat due to flooding in Northport, Alabama, WVUA-TV reported. The Tuscaloosa County Emergency Management Agency tweeted that local Red Cross volunteers were on hand to help those who were affected. A shelter was opened in Northport.

Village Creek in Birmingham rose above flood stage to 13 feet (4 meters), the National Weather Service in Birmingham tweeted.

The system was located about 25 miles (35 kilometers) west of Atlanta. It was moving east-northeast at 13 mph (20 kph), the National Hurricane Center said in advisory Sunday morning.

Claudette was declared organized enough to qualify as a named tropical storm early Saturday morning, well after the storm’s center of circulation had come ashore southwest of New Orleans.

Shortly after landfall, a suspected tornado spurred by the storm demolished or badly damaged at least 50 homes in a small town in Alabama, just north of the Florida border.

Sheriff Heath Jackson in Escambia County said a suspected tornado “pretty much leveled” a mobile home park, toppled trees onto houses and ripped the roof off of a high school gym. Most of the damage was done in or near the towns of Brewton and East Brewton, about 48 miles (77 kilometers) north of Pensacola, Florida.

“It kind of affected everybody,” Jackson said. “But with those mobile homes being built so close together it can take a toll on them a lot more than it can on houses that are spread apart.”

Tornadoes were also reported in southwest Georgia.

Damage from the storm was also felt in north Florida, where winds — in some cases reaching 85 mph (137 kph) — caused an 18-wheeler to flip on its side.

The storm also dumped flooding rains north of Lake Pontchartrain in Louisiana and along the Mississippi coast, inundating streets and, in some areas, pushing water into homes. Later, the storm was drenching the Florida Panhandle and, well inland, a broad expanse of Alabama.

Forecasters said the system could still dump 2 to 4 inches (5 to 10 centimeters) of rain in the region, with isolated accumulations of 8 inches (20 centimeters) possible.

Separately, Tropical Storm Dolores made landfall on Mexico’s west coast with near-hurricane force. As of Sunday morning, it had dissipated over Mexico. Its remnants had maximum sustained winds of 25 mph (35 kph), and it was centered about 170 miles (275 kilometers) east of Mazatlan, Mexico.

Heavy rainfall totals up to 15 inches (38 centimeters) were expected across the southwest and western coastal areas of Mexico throughout the weekend. Forecasters were warning of the potential for flash flooding and mudslides.

___

Bynum reported from Savannah, Georgia. Associated Press reporter Kelli Kennedy in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, contributed to this report.