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U.S. NEWS Friday 23 June 2017
Suspected tornado: 1 hurt, businesses flattened in Alabama

By KEVIN McGILL ered and Kerner worried Agency, said some parts
Associated Press that homes, even those in of coastal Alabama got a
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A parts of town protected by foot of rain. “We are not
suspected tornado near levees, might be flooded. done with the threat yet,”
Birmingham, Alabama, “I’m hoping not,” he add- Stefkovich added.
flattened businesses and ed. In southwest Louisiana,
injured one person Thurs- “Certainly it’s not been as not far from where Cindy
day, while the mayor of bad as we feared. That’s came ashore before dawn,
a coastal Louisiana town the good news, Louisiana motorists in trucks drove
urged residents to evacu- Gov. John Bel Edwards said through knee-high water in
ate ahead of a rising tide in Baton Rouge. “The bad the streets of Cameron Par-
— two lingering effects of news is it’s not over yet.” ish — but there was no seri-
a weakening Tropical De- As a slow-moving tropical ous flooding. “We haven’t
pression Cindy that was fu- storm that formed Tues- heard of water getting into Debris covers TX-87 as a result of Tropical Storm Cindy on Thurs-
eling harsh weather across day in the Gulf, Cindy was homes,” said Ashley Buller, day, June 22, 2017, in Bolivar Peninsula, Texas.
the Southeast. blamed for one death: au- an assistant in the parish Associated Press
A liquor store and a fast- thorities said a 10-year-old emergency office. “Mostly ing granite countertops. warned in a statement that
food restaurant were Missouri boy vacationing a few downed trees, pow- “It’s pretty disgusting, but I floating colonies of fire ants
among the damaged with his family on the Ala- er outages.” The Mississippi don’t have flood insurance could form in the gushing
businesses in Fairfield, Ala- bama coast was struck by coast received some of because they took me out surge of water.
bama, west of Birmingham, a log washed in by a large the heaviest rain. In Gulf- of the flood zone,” said Ber- And in Ocean Springs,
said meteorologist Jason wave. Cindy also caused port, Mississippi, Kathleen tucci, whose store is near a Mississippi, there was an-
Holmes of the National widespread coastal high- Bertucci said heavy rains bayou. other worry in a neighbor-
Weather Service. Dean way and street flooding Wednesday sent about 10 Some threats could be hood where streets and a
Argo, a spokesman for the and several short-lived inches (250 millimeters) of lurking in the flood waters, few homes had flooded
Alabama Alcoholic Bev- tornadoes, but no other water into her business sell- Alabama state officials Thursday.q
erage Control Board said deaths. In Louisiana, Ed-
one employee of the liquor wards said two fishermen
store was hurt. who were reported missing
Holmes also told The Asso- in coastal St. Mary Parish
ciated Press that trees were were located and rescued
down and buildings were Thursday morning. Off Tex-
reported damaged along as, the U.S. Coast Guard
the Interstate 20 corridor on helped the four-member
the western outskirts of Bir- crew of a shrimp trawler
mingham, Alabama’s most limp back to shore at Free-
populous city. The weather port after the crew radioed
service had issued tornado in distress amid fears of sink-
warnings earlier for the Bir- ing early Wednesday.
mingham and Tuscaloosa Authorities warn driving
areas, and Gov. Kay Ivey rains could still cause dan-
had urged state residents gerous flash floods. “That
to be alert for dangerous continues to be the threat,”
weather. Meanwhile, the said Ken Graham, of the
Gulf Coast was still suffer- National Weather Service
ing the effects of Cindy, a Office near New Orleans.
former tropical storm that “Not only around the cen-
crawled ashore from the ter of Cindy. The impact of
Gulf of Mexico early Thurs- rain can be hundreds of
day near the Louisiana-Tex- miles away.”
as state line. Downgraded Heavy rain was forecast to
to a tropical depression, spread over the Tennessee
Cindy was weakening as it and Ohio valleys on Thurs-
headed north through Loui- day, then move Friday and
siana toward Arkansas but Saturday into the central
a broad circulation around Appalachians. At 10 a.m.
the system swept moist Gulf CDT Thursday, Cindy was
air over the South, fueling about 165 miles (265 kilo-
bands of strong weather meters) northwest of Mor-
and pushing up coastal gan City and moving to the
tides. north at 13 mph (20 kph).
In the low-lying Louisiana National Weather Service
town of Lafitte, south of forecasters said the storm
New Orleans, Mayor Tim had dumped from 2 to 10
Kerner urged residents in inches (50 to 250 millime-
and around the town to ters) of rain on various spots
seek higher ground be- along the Gulf Coast from
cause of rising water. southern Louisiana to the
“The tide’s rolling in. It’s get- Florida panhandle as of
ting to a dangerous level,” Wednesday. Jim Stefkov-
Kerner said. Streets and ich, a meteorologist with
yards in the town were cov- the Alabama Emergency