Hurricane Sally moves through Alabama and Florida leaving catastrophic flooding in its wake

Entire neighborhoods under water, damaged businesses and structures, thousands of evacuees and power outages is the

in Florida, Mississippi and Alabama, after making landfall as category 2, with winds of up to 105 miles per hour early this Wednesday in Gulf Shores.

The cyclone, already downgraded to a tropical storm with maximum sustained winds of 70 miles per hour, has dumped waves of up to 5.5 feet of ocean water towards the coast, which, along with torrential rains, will continue to cause "catastrophic" flooding, according to the authorities.

The water damage will continue through at least Friday, from the Panhandle, Florida, to the state of Mississipi, and inland as the storm moves into the interior of the country,

, which slow enough to do more damage.

"Sally is causing

in parts of the Florida Panhandle and southeastern Alabama," according to the latest bulletin from the National Hurricane Center (NHC). 

"A significant flood threat will extend inland over parts of the southeast of the country through Friday," the NHC report added.

About

were

in the early hours of Wednesday.

Eight states in that region may be hit by the storm.

Experts warn of possible tornadoes between Wednesday and Thursday in parts of the Florida Panhandle, southern Alabama and southwestern Georgia.

There is a hurricane watch from the Mississippi-Alabama border to Walton County, Florida.

[How and when to prepare for a hurricane or tropical storm]

The arrival of the hurricane dragged boats ashore or sank them on the dock, uprooted palm trees, removed roofs and knocked down posters.

A replica of Christopher Columbus's ship, the Girl, was lost off the coast of Pensacola, police said.

Emergency crews removed people from numerous flooded homes, according to the Associated Press agency.

In Escambia County, which includes Pensacola, more than 40 were rescued in a single hour, including a family of four that was found in a tree, Sheriff David Morgan said.

In the coastal city of Gulf Shores, Alabama, there is a

due to weather conditions.

In Escambia County, Florida's Panhandle region, Agent Chip Simmons promised to keep his agents out and protect residents for as long as possible.

“It is not the intensity of #Sally that should be of concern.

It is the

”, the meteorologists of The Weather Channel warned this Tuesday.

[The hurricane season was expected to be intense: it will be even worse]

One of Sally's peculiarities is

with which it moves

, a characteristic that increases the risk of

as the NHC warns, as this implies that the hurricane stays longer in the regions around the that goes through.

"Sally is another example of a tropical cyclone that can have a serious impact even when it does not meet the official definition of a major hurricane," which are those with a category greater than 3, said meteorologists from The Weather Channel.

[Dos and don'ts during and after a hurricane]

Heavy rains, waves and flash flooding hit parts of the Florida Panhandle and the Alabama coastline on Tuesday.

Stacy Stewart, a senior specialist at the hurricane center, told the AP news agency that flooding could be deadly.

"People who live near rivers, streams and streams, should

and go to another place," he warned.

Hurricane Sally is moving slowly through the Gulf and they fear it will strengthen before making landfall

Sept.

15, 202002: 32

Since Monday, President Donald Trump has issued emergency statements for parts of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, tweeting that residents should listen to state and local leaders.

Forecasters have warned that Sally could trigger flooding similar to those caused by

when it flooded the greater Houston area.

Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves urged people in the southern part of the state to prepare for the possibility of flash floods.

She said about 120 people turned to shelters in Mississippi.

The NHC also noted that

became a hurricane early Wednesday morning, now reaching Category 2 with

winds

Although the meteor is still far away: 820 miles from the Lesser Antilles.

Climate change is causing fiercer hurricanes

Sally is the strongest of the five phenomena that coincide in the Atlantic, something that has not happened since 1971. In addition to this phenomenon, meteorologists monitor Teddy, Paulette, Karina and Vicky.

[Trump travels to California and ignores the role of climate change in the fires that sweep the West Coast]

The current hurricane season is being particularly

as is the catastrophic wildfire season on the West Coast.

The severe weather situation has refocused attention on the

Scientists say global warming is making the strongest hurricanes, those with wind speeds of 110 mph or more, become even stronger.

Warmer air holds more moisture, which makes storms rainier.

For its part, the

makes the swells higher and more damaging.

With information from AP and NHC and Weather.com