Add The New York Post on Google Rescuers saved 14 people from flooded caves during two separate incidents in northern Alabama during a Flash Flood Emergency in Jackson County Sunday afternoon.
Widespread Gulf moisture helped fuel rounds of heavy rain across parts of the Central U.S. through the weekend.
The National Weather Service (NWS) office in Huntsville issued the Flash Flood Emergency Sunday after 5 and 9 inches of rain fell across parts of Jackson and Madison counties.
The Jackson County Emergency Management Agency said rescue workers took nearly an hour by boat to reach a person stranded at Mother’s Finest Cave near Stevenson, Alabama, after receiving a call for help just before 3 p.m. local time.
A team from Huntsville Cave Rescue was able to safely rescue the trapped person, who was unharmed.Officials received another call for a cave rescue around 3:30 p.m. at Tumbling Rock Cave near Fackler, just 25 miles north of the first incident.
First responders there also had to navigate flooded roads and requested additional assistance from other nearby agencies.
The Hollywood Police Department helped five people to safety before the additional help arrived. Swift water and cave rescue teams safely rescued the remaining eight people who were trapped.
The emergency management agency reminded residents that caves and creek areas are particularly prone to flooding during heavy rain.
First responders in and around Huntsville also conducted multiple water rescues of drivers trapped on flooded local roads.
Rainfall totals underscored the threat, with Skyline, Alabama, receiving more than 6 inches of rain and Hazel Green in Madison County recording more than 9 inches on Sunday.
