In Pictures: Hurricane Sally’s aftermath

An U.S. flag flies from a boat damaged by Hurricane Sally in Pensacola, Florida. Hurricane Sally moved northeast where it was expected to bring more than a foot of rain to some areas, one day after it flooded streets and knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses on the U.S. Gulf Coast.

Members of the Florida National Guard rescue local residents Joe Hernandez, 66, and his wife Tammy Hurd, 53, from their flooded vehicle on Bristol Park Road in Cantonment, Fla., after the Hurricane Sally slowly moved through the area. Sally made landfall near Gulf Shores, Ala., as a Category 2 hurricane and moved through the Florida Panhandle, bringing “catastrophic and life-threatening” flooding even as it weakened to a tropical storm.

Cars and a motorcycle are underwater as water floods a street. Hurricane Sally made landfall Wednesday near Gulf Shores, Alabama, as a Category 2 storm, pushing a surge of ocean water onto the coast and dumping torrential rain that forecasters said would cause dangerous flooding from the Florida Panhandle to Mississippi and well inland in the days ahead.

From left: Andrew Yoder, Minh Ryan, and Sean Ryan, pull soggy carpet up from a nursery room at Yoder's home in Cantonment, Fla after Hurricane Sally drenched the area, flooding the home.

A man walks his bicycle through a street flooded by Hurricane Sally in Pensacola, Florida. Hurricane Sally barrelled into the US Gulf Coast early Wednesday, with forecasts of drenching rains that could provoke "historic" and potentially deadly flash floods. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) said the Category 2 storm hit Gulf Shores, Alabama at about 4:45 am (0945 GMT), bringing maximum sustained winds of about 105 miles (165 kilometers) per hour."Historic life-threatening flooding likely along portions of the northern Gulf coast," the Miami-based center had warned late Tuesday, adding the hurricane could dump up to 20 inches (50 centimeters) of rain in some areas.

Joe Mirable surveys the damage to his business after Hurricane Sally moved through the area. More than 570,000 homes and businesses across the area were without power. Several residents along the Alabama and Florida coasts said damage from the slow-moving storm caught them off guard. By late Wednesday, the floodwaters had started to recede.

Office items are strewn about outside the business of Joe Mirable after Hurricane Sally moved through the area in Perdido Key, Fla. Sally was the 18th named storm in the Atlantic this year and the eighth of tropical storm or hurricane strength to hit the United States. There are currently three other named storms in the Atlantic, making it one of the most active Atlantic hurricane seasons on record.

A man watches flood waters in downtown Pensacola, Fla. Hurricanes have increased in intensity and destructiveness since the 1980s as the climate has warmed, according to researchers at the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

A damaged house caused by Hurricane Sally is pictured in Perdido Key, Florida. Sally brought intense winds and more than 20 inches of rain, leading to major flooding in the Pensacola area.

Much of downtown Pensacola was under water, and many marinas took a beating, too. When Sally made landfall, the then-Category 2 storm pushed a surge of ocean water onto the coast and dumped torrential rain, causing dangerous flooding from the Panhandle to Mississippi and well inland. Above, A couple walk up the broken dock to check their boat during Hurricane Sally in downtown Pensacola, Florida.

Missy Cowart and her son Wyatt, 6, inspect their friend's camper after Hurricane Sally made landfall on Dauphin Island, Alabama, U.S.