Rescues underway after flash flooding in parts of Alabama

[October 07, 2021]    (Reuters) - Rescues were under way and roads were closed in several places near Birmingham, Alabama, late Wednesday after heavy rains flooded parts of the state, and the weather department issued a flash flood emergency for several counties.

The National Weather Service (NWS) in Birmingham said numerous people had been rescued from vehicles stuck in water and that homes and roads were flooded, with the rains forming and moving into areas already suffering from significant and life-threatening flooding.

The NWS issued a flash flood emergency late Wednesday for Shelby and Jefferson county in Alabama, where the weather stations recorded 5-10 inches (13-25 cm) of rain in a day.

"While heavy rainfall has ended at this time, runoff is resulting in continued significant flooding w/ major impacts. Elsewhere, areas of rain continue into the night," NWS said in a tweet early Thursday.

Birmingham receives an average of about 3.34 inches of rain in October, according to CNN, which means some areas received around double the rainfall they normally receive in an entire month.

"We've had numerous water rescues, people trapped in cars and rescued by fire departments and police departments, and we've had damage reports of trees on houses and trees on roadways, and it's really across the entire Birmingham metro area," Jefferson County Emergency Management Agency Director Jim Coker told CNN.

Alongside the weather department, city of Alabama also warned the residents to stay in their homes and avoid travel.

(Reporting by Aakriti Bhalla in Bengaluru; Editing by Toby Chopra)

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