``It's just so devastating,'' Julie Brinson said as she returnedhome today to search for her antique jewelry collection. ``Therewas no time. There was just no time to take anything with us. Theflood waters came up so fast.''
Water was 4 feet deep Sunday in Mrs. Brinson's home along theFish River but had drained out by today.
Fish River, a short stream that winds through flat country 20miles southeast of Mobile, jumped 12 feet Sunday after Dannystalled along the Alabama coast, dumping an estimated 30 inches ofrain in three days over parts of Mobile Bay. That's almost half thearea's normal rainfall for an entire year.
A bridge over the river at the town of Fish River was all butcovered by water Sunday; this morning, the water level was about 20feet below the span.
The short-lived hurricane, which also wrecked fishing boats anddid minor damage to buildings in Louisiana, was just a low pressurearea today, drifting northward with wind blowing at a sustained 12mph, the National Weather Service said. Rainfall had stopped in thecoastal counties and at the city of Mobile, but continued at a rateof 2 inches an hour in parts of western Alabama, where floodadvisories were in effect.
The storm killed one man caught at sea in a sailboat. Anotherman died of a heart attack while trying to secure a boat.
Some 1,800 people were in shelters at one point, state officialssaid, although most had returned home today.
Homes and businesses had wind and water damage across southernAlabama, and Danny destroyed one marina and a condominium complexthat was under construction. Dozens of roads were washed out, andscores of boats sank at their docks or were set adrift.
Many lost furniture and personal belongings such as photographsto the flooding.
``I guess it took everything out,'' Paul Utter said Sunday atthe fire station in Marlow.
Mrs. Brinson said she was left without any dry clothes and hadto borrow clothes to attend the funeral of an uncle today.
Nearby, Paul Utter said he had never experienced anything likeDanny during his 32 years of living along the Alabama coast. Hereturned to his Fish River home this morning today and found thatthe water had been up to the rafters. Although the water haddrained away, he couldn't get in the front door because hisrefrigerator had floated up against it.
``I'm going to have to strip everything out of it. We're goingto have to gut the house,'' the 67-year-old retiree said.
Most electrical service had been restored by this morning.Rescue workers were setting up portable kitchens and the SalvationArmy sought donations of food and money.
No damage estimates were available yet today. But in a wide areaof coastal Baldwin County, ``almost every county road has ablowout, a washout, a tree down or a power line across it - andsometimes all of the above,'' said Leigh Anne Ryals, an emergencyservices spokeswoman.
Jeremy Lewis, emergency medical technician with the Marlow firedepartment, said evacuation efforts stopped at Sunday dusk with acouple dozen people electing to remain in their homes. Rescueworkers began checking on them this morning and reported noimmediate problems.
Johnny Norris, a paraplegic who uses a wheelchair, initiallyrefused to leave his mobile home early Sunday. But later in theday, Norris, his three dogs and six puppies had to be rescued byboat.
He went back today and found that the water had crested just shyof his front door.
``I'm doing good now that I know my house is OK,'' Norris said.
Farther west, in southeastern Louisiana, the storm had wreckedabout 50 fishing boats and caused mostly minor damage to hundredsof houses.
By JESSICA SAUNDERS,Associated Press WriterCopyright ©1997 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or distributed.
Copyright 2024 by Capitol Broadcasting Company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
