At least 4 dead after flooding prompts water rescues in Alabama

Deadly flooding inundated parts of Alabama on Wednesday night

Heavy rain continues across the Southeast on Thursday following Wednesday night's deadly flooding in Alabama.

The Marshall County, Alabama, coroner’s office confirmed Thursday morning that one child was dead because of flash flooding in the city of Arab and an 18-year-old female was killed by floodwaters in Union Grove.

A car swept off the road by floodwaters in Hoover, AL also claimed two lives.

The National Weather Service issued a Flash Flood Emergency about 8:45 p.m. Central time Wednesday from Birmingham to Pelham, Alabama, after receiving numerous reports of water rescues, roads underwater, water entering structures and deep-flowing water in the area.

A Flash Flood Emergency is issued for "exceedingly rare situations when extremely heavy rain is leading to a severe threat to human life and catastrophic damage from a flash flood is happening or will happen soon," the NWS says. "Typically, emergency officials are reporting life-threatening water rises resulting in water rescues/evacuations."

The Pelham fire department tweeted that it was running calls for water rescues due to flooding, especially on the north end of the city. The Flash Flood Emergency was extended until 5 a.m. Central time Thursday as dozens of water rescues were ongoing overnight, according to the Pelham police department.

Doppler radar and automated rain gauges indicated a wide swath of 6 to 10 inches of rain, with locally higher amounts, had fallen in the area. While heavy rainfall had ended by Thursday morning, runoff was resulting in continued significant flooding with major impacts, especially from Pelham to Hoover to Vestavia Hills and immediate surrounding areas, the NWS noted.

Later Thursday morning, flash flooding was reported in the Florida Panhandle, including near Panama City. Video shared on social media showed water flowing across Tyndall Parkway, where some cars had stalled in floodwaters.

Dangerous flooding was also ongoing Thursday morning farther west in Walton County, Florida, according to the Walton County sheriff's office.

The heaviest rain on Thursday occurred in parts of the Carolinas. Areas between Asheville and Charlotte received several inches of rain.

The slow-moving upper-level low and associated cold front responsible for this rain will slowly move eastward by Friday, with soaking rain then reaching the mid-Atlantic over the weekend. Between 1 and 3 inches of rain is possible there, which might result in localized flash flooding in some areas.

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