Bazaar
Gordon Kills Child in Florida, Knocks Out Power to 40,000 on Gulf Coast | Weather.com
Advertisement
Advertisement

Hurricane Safety and Preparedness

Gordon Kills Child in Florida, Knocks Out Power to 40,000 on Gulf Coast

At a Glance

  • Gordon, now a tropical depression, caused major disruptions Tuesday night.
  • A child died in Florida when strong winds knocked a tree onto a mobile home.
  • At least 40,000 homes and businesses lost power along the Gulf Coast.

Although Gordon weakened rapidly after making landfall Tuesday night along the Mississippi coast, its wind and rainfall still left thousands in the dark and claimed one life.

A child was killed when winds knocked a large tree limb onto a mobile home in West Pensacola, Florida, on Tuesday evening, according to Escambia County Emergency Management. The child's name and age have not been released.

"It was just awful," neighbor Amanda Ray, who heard the huge oak tree limb fall, told the Pensacola News Journal.

More than 40,000 homes and businesses lost power in Florida, Alabama and Mississippi, according to PowerOutage.us.

(MORE: Follow the Path of Gordon)

Flooding overtook the streets of Dauphin Island ahead of Gordon's arrival, making many impassable. About half the island lost power in the storm, Mayor Jeff Collier told the Associated Press, mostly on the western end of the barrier island.

Despite the outages and flooding, Collier told the AP that "it sounds like, for the most part, we did OK."

(MORE: Watching Hurricane Florence in the Atlantic)

A water rescue was reported by the Dauphin Island Fire Department near the public beach Tuesday afternoon. The two people in the water were successfully pulled from the water.

As the rain continued to fall in southwestern Alabama, roads were washed out by floodwaters in Clarke County.

Advertisement

By Wednesday morning, Gordon, which came ashore about 30 miles east of Biloxi, was downgraded to a tropical depression as it moved northwestward in Mississippi.

Double red flags flew Wednesday at beaches in Destin, Panama City, Pensacola and South Walton, Florida, as well as Gulf Shores and Orange Beach, Alabama, forbidding anyone from entering the water, according to AL.com.

Mississippi's Gulf Coast casinos, which were forced to close Tuesday because of the storm, were allowed to reopen Wednesday, the AP also said.

Ahead of Gordon's arrival, the governors of Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana declared states of emergency. Several school districts were closed. Emergency operations centers were activated from Florida to Louisiana.

(MORE: September's 5 Most Intense Hurricanes)

The U.S. Coast Guard closed the Mississippi ports of Gulfport and Pascagoula on Tuesday, as well as the port in Mobile, Alabama.

Tuesday afternoon, President Donald Trump tweeted that the federal government is ready to help those in Tropical Storm Gordon's path.

In Mississippi, Gulfport, Biloxi and Long Beach ordered that their harbors be evacuated, leaving boat owners scrambling to secure or evacuate their vessels, WLOX-TV reported.

The Gulf Islands National Seashore islands, including East and West Ship, Horn, Cat, Petit Bois, and West Petit Bois Islands were closed to the public until further notice.

In Louisiana, the Flood Protection Authority-East said in a statement that numerous floodgates were closed near New Orleans in anticipation of heavy rainfall. New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell recommended evacuations for residents living outside the levee system, CNN.com reported.

Pieces of an oak tree are seen after it fell on a mobile home killing a child in Pensacola, Fla., Wednesday, Sept. 5 2018. Tropical Storm Gordon never became a hurricane and is now a depression, dumping rain across several southern states. (Bill Kaczor via AP)
1/84
Pieces of an oak tree are seen after it fell on a mobile home killing a child in Pensacola, Fla., Wednesday, Sept. 5 2018. Tropical Storm Gordon never became a hurricane and is now a depression, dumping rain across several southern states. (Bill Kaczor via AP)
Advertisement
Hidden Weather Icon Masks
Hidden Weather Icon Symbols