USA – Severe Floods in Alabama Leave 1 Dead

Heavy rain caused flash flooding in Alabama, USA on 18 September 2021. Roads were closed and one person died in a vehicle caught in flood water in Tuscaloosa.

A car was swept into a drainage channel after flash floods in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, 18 September 2021. Photo: Tuscaloosa Police Department

Tuscaloosa County Emergency Management Agency reported flooding on several roads in the city of Tuscaloosa, including areas around the University of Alabama campus and the Willowbrook Trailer Park in Northport. Flooding also caused difficult conditions for motorists in Huntsville.

In Tuscaloosa, police received over 100 calls for assistance in around 6 hours on 18 September due to the flooding. Flooded roads stranded motorists across the city. “Several people who called 911 had climbed from the windows of their stalled vehicles to escape as floodwaters rose,” police said.

One person was reported missing after a vehicle was swept into a drainage channel. Tuscaloosa Fire Rescue Service’s Swift Water Rescue team responded and searched the area. The vehicle was retrieved from under a tunnel but found to be empty. Search and rescue operations continued for hours and the body of a man finally located on 19 September 2021.

Emergency teams retrieved a vehicle swept away by flash floods in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, September 2021. Photo: Tuscaloosa Fire and rescue