Tropical Storm Gordon hits southern US

Damaging winds and flooding rains sweep across the Deep South.

Tropical Storm Gordon hits the southern US
Damaging winds and flooding rains sweep across the Deep South [AFP]

Tropical Storm Gordon has made landfall on the US Gulf Coast, coming on onshore around 50km east of Biloxi, Mississippi, on Wednesday.

On arrival, Gordon had sustained winds approaching 115kmph, which is just short of Category 1 hurricane strength.

State of emergency was declared across Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and the western side of the Florida Panhandle as damaging winds and heavy rain causing flood swept across the region.

The worst of the storm lashed the northwest Florida and the Alabama coast where up to 150mm of rain fell in a matter of a few hours.

According to the Associated Press, roads were blocked off due to widespread flooding.

Similarly, a storm surge led to flooding along the Gulf Coast and barrier islands.

The strong winds were also a major concern as trees and power lines were brought down, resulting in widespread outages. At some point, nearly 50,000 people were without power in Alabama.

Gordon developed on September 3 around the Turks and Caicos Islands. It then went on to cross the Florida Peninsula, gaining strength as it tracked over the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

The storm went on to spawn several tornadoes before weakening as it moved inland towards Arkansas.

Additional flooding is likely across the Mississippi Valley as the remnants of the storm move up towards the Midwest.

By the end of the week, tropical moisture from Gordon is forecast to continue to fuel heavy rain right across the region.

Source: Al Jazeera, News Agencies