FOLEY, Ala. (AP) - A motorist was killed Friday when a car plunged into a flooded-out section of road in Baldwin County, where officials estimate more than 2,000 homes were damaged in a deluge that left millions of dollars’ worth of destruction this week.
Barriers were in place on Baldwin County 91 near Lillian, where a large section of the two-lane road was destroyed by floodwaters after more than 20 inches of rain fell in the area. But authorities said a motorist still ran into a ravine created by the road failure.
State troopers will investigate. The driver’s name was not released immediately.
One other death was linked to the flooding this week in Baldwin County, which lies on the eastern shore of Mobile Bay and is Alabama’s largest tourist draw because of its beaches.
Authorities said Sawyer Avery, 67, was found dead inside a car that been submerged in Baldwin County. The automobile was spotted near the Magnolia River, which flooded badly after more than 20 inches of rain fell in the area this week.
Officers had been looking for the man since a friend reported him missing Thursday morning.
Mitchell Sims, emergency management director for the county, said the flooding damaged more than 2,000 homes in the county at an estimated cost of $9 million. Damage to roads was estimated at another $3 million.
Sims took a helicopter tour of the county with Rep. Bradley Byrne, who said he saw numerous instances of damage caused by flooding.
“When you see the washouts and sinkholes on very well-built roads, it shows you just how powerful this water was,” he said. “It clearly took people by surprise.”
Byrne and other members of Alabama’s House delegation signed a letter supporting Gov. Robert Bentley’s request to President Barack Obama for a federal disaster declaration, which would let federal money be used in the cleanup.
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