PENSACOLA, Fla. -- Rescuers on the Gulf Coast used high-water vehicles Thursday to reach people cut off by floodwaters in the aftermath of Hurricane Sally, even as a second round of flooding began taking shape along rivers and creeks swollen by the storm's heavy rains.
Forecasters are already turning their attention to two more threatening tropical weather systems: Hurricane Teddy and a disturbance in the Gulf of Mexico that could soon earn the name Wilfred.
There is some chance Teddy could strike Bermuda and then northern New England toward the middle of next week, while the other system could be a problem for coastal Texas and the northern Gulf Coast around the same time.
The threat of new storms comes during the busiest Atlantic hurricane season on record to date. Twenty named storms have formed and, after Wilfred is likely named, forecasters will be forced to draw from the Greek alphabet for naming additional storms. That's happened only once before, in 2005, which holds the record for the busiest season.
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Across southern Alabama and the Florida Panhandle, homeowners and businesses began cleaning up, and officials inspected bridges and highways for safety, a day after Sally rolled through with 105 mph winds, a surge of seawater and 1 to 2½ feet of rain in many places before it began breaking up.
Its remnants continued to push deep inland with heavy downpours, threatening flooding across the South all the way to Virginia.
In hard-hit Pensacola and surrounding Escambia County, where Sally's floodwaters had coursed through downtown streets and lapped at car door handles Wednesday before receding, authorities went door-to-door to check on residents and warn them they were not out of danger.
At least eight waterways in Alabama and the Panhandle were expected to hit major flood stage by Thursday. Forecasters warned that some could break records, submerge bridges and swamp homes.
"Please, please, we're not out of the woods even if we've got beautiful skies today," said Escambia County emergency manager Eric Gilmore.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis likewise urged Panhandle residents not to let their guard down even though the hurricane had passed, saying: "You're going to see the rivers continue to rise."
Crews carried out at least 400 rescues in Escambia County by high-water vehicles, boats and water scooters, authorities said.
Rescuers focused their efforts Thursday on Innerarity Point, a narrow strip of land close to Pensacola that is home to waterfront homes and businesses. Floodwaters covered the only road out, though authorities said no one was in immediate danger.
The Florida National Guard said it had deployed about 500 soldiers and airmen to help local authorities evacuate 113 people, though it did not say when and where the rescues took place.
In Alabama on both sides of Mobile Bay, National Guard soldiers from high-water evacuation teams used big trucks to rescue at least 35 people Thursday, authorities said.
About 35 miles inland, a swollen Murder Creek cut off access between the Alabama towns of Brewton and East Brewton, inundating a grocery store, a tobacco shop, a park and more.
A few people cleaned up in Bristol Park, a creekside neighborhood where as much as 4 feet of water filled brick homes north of Pensacola.
Susan Cutts' parents fled rising water inside their home into the garage, where they desperately called for help on a dying cellphone until aid arrived.
"They were on top of their car when they got to them," Cutts said.
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At least one death, in Alabama, was blamed on the hurricane, and a half-million businesses were without electricity Thursday afternoon in Florida, Alabama and Georgia. A section of the main bridge between Pensacola and Pensacola Beach collapsed after it was hit by a barge that broke loose in the storm.
Information for this article was contributed by Jay Reeves, Angie Wang, Bobby Caina Calvan, Russ Bynum and Jeff Martin of The Associated Press; and by Jason Samenow of The Washington Post.
