News
Death, storms are Fay’s legacy
By David Goodwin
Email this story |
Print this story
The remnants of Tropical Storm Fay dealt Alabama a third-straight day of torrential rain and frequent tornado warnings Monday.
The storm ” already blamed for the death of a Mobile man who drowned at Lake Martin ” stalled over southern Mississippi Sunday, before atmospheric conditions threw Fay into reverse.
One fatality was reported in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Fay, which crawled across Elmore County this weekend. The death in Elmore County was the only fatality reported in the state.
A Mobile man drowned while swimming Saturday evening in “white-capped waters” on Lake Martin near Mitchell Dam, according to David Brunson, deputy director of the Elmore County Emergency Management Agency. Divers recovered the body of the 33-year-old Mobile resident “ Fitzhugh Lee Jackson IV of Elberta “ at 9:42 Sunday morning.
After a Saturday of torrential rain, the county was placed under tornado warnings numerous times Saturday evening and Sunday morning. A tornado warning Saturday night forced divers to give up the drowning search at 6 p.m.
The Mobile man, Brunson said, was swimming with his girlfriend on Lake Martin near Burke’s Cove Saturday afternoon. When the weather began to worsen, Brunson said, “she made it to a boat and he did not.”
Sunday, the National Weather Service released a tornado warning for western Elmore County, near Deatsville and another for the central part of the county, when a tornado was spotted in the air near the Santuck and Central communities.
Another tornado was reported on the ground in the Lightwood community in a rural area near Tallassee. Eric Jones, county EMA director, said he was still in communication with community and municipal first responders to assess Fay’s total damage. Local firefighters and county highway workers were “working fast and furious” through the weekend to keep county roads and highways open, as heavy rain and high winds dropped trees into the roadway.
During the three-day period from Saturday to Monday, the Elmore County EMA reported 6.61 inches of rainfall.
County engineer Richie Beyer, who was keeping an eye on flood conditions, said any low-lying areas and creek beds were at risk for flash flooding if the rain continued. Residents should also beware of dirt roads, Beyer said, which are prone to wash out if the rain continues.
Jones also noted the presence of another tropical system, which was upgraded to Hurricane Gustav Tuesday, that computer models predicted could strike along the central Gulf coast. That track, he said, increased the possibility that Elmore County could experience its second tropical system in just more than a week.
