LAUDERDALE COUNTY, Ala. — Although Northern Alabama didn't see the brunt of Tropical Storm Ida, many roadways are still extremely wet and could be dangerous to travel on.
"It takes so very little water to float a car and it takes so very little water to knock a person down," said Lauderdale County EMA and 911 Director George Grabryan.
It's easy to get carried away by floodwater and the amount of water needed may shock you, but to be rescued after drifting away, well, that can be much more difficult.
"If you've got a couple of feet of water moving at a very slow rate; that can float a car, and, you know, five or six inches of water moving at the right rate can knock your feet out from under you. Those are some issues that are just very very concerning when we start getting a lot of water out there. It takes so much, as far as energy, to get someone out of the water and getting the people to you that are gonna affect those rescues sometimes takes time," said Grabryan.
Lauderdale County Street Department Manager David Koonce says it's best to limit travel in these conditions, but if you must, he asks that you please slow down.
"Water in certain places around the city can pool up, we may have a storm drain get stopped up, we have crews to go out and check it so we encourage everybody to slow down this kind of weather," said Koonce.
If you see that a roadway is submerged in water, "just stop, back up, go around it," said Koonce.
Alongside avoiding trees when you travel, it is also important to stay far away from down power lines, especially when traveling on foot.
"If you come across cables down across the road, you need to avoid those. A lot of cables look very similar, it's hard for the linemen to discern what cable is what. As far as something being energized, that can cover an awfully large area on the water," said Grabryan.