Major rainfall triggered the flooding in the afternoon hours, forcing water rescue efforts and multiple road closures.
An AccuWeather radar shows the large amount of rainfall that descended on the Birmingham, Alabama, area in the 3-4 p.m. EDT hour Wednesday.
A surge of floodwaters rushed through Birmingham, Alabama, Wednesday afternoon, claiming the life of one man and giving way to serious travel issues throughout the area.
Flooding began to emerge in the 3 p.m. EDT hour Wednesday, as intense rain bore down on Birmingham due to a nearly stationary thunderstorm. The hardest-hit areas in the afternoon were in the southwest sector of the city, namely the neighborhoods of Oxmoor and Huntington Park.
Joseva Lawrence Speed, 60, died Wednesday after he was caught up in swift-moving water outside of St. Vincent's Hospital around 3:01 p.m., authorities said. Bystanders pulled Speed from the water and performed CPR, though he was later pronounced dead St. Vincent's, AL.com reported.
The torrential downpour that deluged Birmingham was a result of a low-pressure area slowly moving through the Southeast Wednesday, according to AccuWeather Meteorologist Danielle Knittle, part of a system that had already caused locally severe thunderstorms throughout portions of central Florida.
"However, closer to Birmingham, showers and thunderstorms blossomed right under the upper-level low and, with little wind aloft, these storms moved very slowly and trained over the same area," Knittle said. "Torrential downpours over this small area quickly led to radar estimated totals of 1.5 to 3 inches of rain in a very short period of time."
Birmingham's office of the National Weather Service provided an update to area travelers within that 4 p.m. hour, telling those in the area to "please avoid travel in downtown Birmingham." The NWS update also mentioned ongoing water rescues, impassable roads and cars swept away in floodwaters due to the rain.
A radar image showing estimated rainfall across the Birmingham metro area during the height of the storm.
Birmingham ABC 33/40 News also confirmed that Birmingham Fire and Rescue Service Department, as well as the Birmingham Police Department, were "already responding" to multiple water rescue efforts. As the evening hours approached, the Fire Department reported 20 rescue calls, per ABC 33/40, with one person listed in critical condition. Birmingham CBS 42 reported that the person in critical condition was a 60-year-old man, pulled from the water by bystanders near the Southtown area of the city before being taken to a local hospital.
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The flooding also reached the campus of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, as local resident Andy Rains caught on his phone during the afternoon hours. UAB's Emergency Management division noted that students should remain "weather aware" and that they should "not drive through standing water." Multiple road closures on the campus were also reported.
Another Birmingham resident, Ben Blackerby, posted a video from the Crestwood area of the city, capturing the potent downpour.
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