Hurricane Sally hits US coast

Hurricane Sally hit ashore near the Florida-Alabama line Wednesday with 105 mph (165 kph) winds and rain measured in feet.

It has killed at least one person, swamped homes and forced the rescue of hundreds as it pushed inland for what could be a slow and disastrous drenching across the Deep South.

Communities across the Gulf Coast braced for historic floods and life-threatening storm surge after Hurricane Sally, a Category 2 storm, made landfall Wednesday morning.

Sally weakened from a hurricane to a tropical storm by 2 p.m. Wednesday, officials with the National Weather Service’s National Hurricane Center said.

The death happened in Orange Beach, Alabama, according to Mayor Tony Kennon, who also told a news agency that one person was missing. Kennon said he couldn’t immediately release details.