LOCAL

Flooding causes problems around state

Floodwaters starting to recede in Moundville

Staff, wire report
J.W. Hubbard pushes off from the shore while Banjo Hubbard joins Cecil Payne in the boat. They are returning by boat to their flooded Riverview Beach Road neighborhood near Moundville Monday, Dec. 31, 2108. Rescuers were bringing stranded people out of the neighborhood and landing them at the boat launch in Moundville. [Staff Photo/Gary Cosby Jr.]

Heavy rains are causing flooding problems in parts of Alabama.

Forecasters have issued flood watches and warnings for western and northern Alabama, and the National Weather Service says an additional 2 inches of rain could fall in spots by Friday morning. Some areas of the state have had more than 6 inches of rain in the last week. Tuscaloosa recorded nearly 6 inches of rain last week.

A food pantry in Cullman had to shut down after water seeped into the building. The heavy rains washed out sections of roads in Hale County near Moundville, forcing the evacuation of about 20 people.

The recent heavy rains left sections of Riverview Beach Road and Cutoff Road in Moundville flooded. Portions of the roads were washed out by the floodwaters.

Hale County Emergency Management Agency Director Russell Weeden said the floodwaters have receded some, though some areas near the river remain flooded.

“I have been to several of the river areas this afternoon. We have some sporadic calls from some people who need a ride out,” Weeden said Thursday. “The water has gone down in most places.”

Repair crews have completed a temporary road bypassing the damaged section of Cutoff Road, he said. Residents and emergency services can now access the River Beach community.

Weeden said crews will repairs the roads once the waters recede.

The weather service says flooding is occurring in mostly rural areas around the Black Warrior, Tombigbee and Sucarnoochee rivers in western Alabama, where flood warnings are in effect until Friday morning.

Sections of the lower Black Warrior River remained above flood stage with minor flooding, according to the national Weather Service observations.

Pickens Greene, Hale, Sumter and Marengo counties are part of a region of the state that remains under a flood watch until Friday morning.

The Tennessee River at Florence is near flood levels last seen nine years ago in northwestern Alabama.

Staff Writer Ed Enoch contributed to this report.