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Tropical Storm Cindy turns deadly in ravaging Gulf Coast

Kenny Kuluz wades through flood waters at the Ocean Springs, Miss., harbor as the combination of high tide and the rain bands of Tropical Storm Cindy, dumped rain on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, Wednesday morning, June 21, 2017. (Tim Isbell/The Sun Herald, via AP)

New Orleans • A boy on an Alabama beach was struck and killed Wednesday by a log washed ashore by storm surge from Tropical Storm Cindy, which spun bands of severe weather ashore from the Florida panhandle to east Texas as it churned ever closer to the Gulf coast.

Baldwin County Sheriff's Capt. Stephen Arthur said witnesses reported the 10-year-old boy from Missouri was standing outside a condominium in Fort Morgan when the log, carried in by a large wave, struck him. Arthur said the youth was vacationing with his family from the St. Louis area and that relatives and emergency workers tried to revive him. He wasn't immediately identified.

It was the first known fatality from Cindy. The storm formed Tuesday and was expected to make landfall some time late Wednesday or early Thursday. The storm was expected to come ashore near the Louisiana-Texas line but the severe weather extended far to the east. National Weather Service forecasters estimated it had had dumped anywhere from 2 to 10 inches (50 to 250 millimeters) of rain on various spots along the Gulf Coast from south Louisiana to the Florida panhandle as of Wednesday. And more rain was on the way.

Alek Krautmann at the weather service office in Slidell, Louisiana, said more moisture was heading in from the Gulf Wednesday evening.

"There were plenty of breaks today, but it's filled in a little more this afternoon," he said.

Coastal roads and some buildings flooded. There were several reports of possible short-lived tornadoes.

In Gulfport, Mississippi, Kathleen Bertucci said heavy rainfall Wednesday sent about 10 inches of water into her business, Top Shop, which sells and installs granite countertops.

"It's pretty disgusting, but I don't have flood insurance because they took me out of the flood zone," said Bertucci, whose store is near a bayou. "We're just trying to clean everything up and hope it doesn't happen again."

In nearby Biloxi, a waterspout moved ashore Wednesday morning. Harrison County Emergency Management Director Rupert Lacy said there were no injuries but fences, trees and power lines were damaged.

Storms also downed trees in the Florida Panhandle. Fort Walton Beach spokeswoman Jo Soria said fallen trees hit houses and cars in what she called "pockets of wind damage" in two or three residential neighborhoods.

The White House said President Donald Trump was briefed on the storm Wednesday by Homeland Security Adviser Tom Bossert.

Also Wednesday, Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards declared a state of emergency, like his Alabama counterpart a day earlier. He was among authorities stressing that the storm's danger wasn't limited to the coast.

In Knoxville, Tennessee, the power-generating Tennessee Valley Authority, said it was drawing down water levels on nine lakes it controls along the Tennessee River and its tributaries in Tennessee, Alabama and Kentucky, anticipating heavy runoff from Cindy's rains once the storm moves inland. The TVA manages 49 dams to regulate water, provide power and help control downstream flooding.

The storm was centered Wednesday afternoon about 135 miles (215 kilometers) south of Lake Charles, Louisiana and had top sustained winds of 50 mph (85 kph). A tropical storm warning was in effect along the coast from San Luis Pass, Texas, to the mouth of the Mississippi River.

In Alabama, streets were flooded and beaches were closed on the barrier island of Dauphin Island. Some roads were covered with water in the seafood village of Bayou La Batre, but Becca Caldemeyer still managed to get to her bait shop at the city dock. If only there were more customers, she said.

"It's pretty quiet," Caldemeyer said by phone from Rough Water Bait and Tackle. "Nobody can cast a shrimp out in this kind of wind."

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ordered the State Operations Center to raise its readiness level. He also activated four Texas Task Force 1 boat squads and two Texas Military Department vehicles squads of five vehicles each for weather-related emergencies.

The Louisiana National Guard dispatched high water vehicles and helicopters into flood-prone areas. The state said the Federal Emergency Management Agency also was moving 125,000 meals and 200,000 liters of water into Louisiana. And workers on Grand Isle, Louisiana's barrier island community south of New Orleans, reinforced a rock levee protecting the island's vulnerable west side.

"All arms of the state's emergency preparedness and response apparatus are taking Tropical Storm Cindy seriously, and we are calling on all Louisianans throughout the state to do so as well," Edwards said in a statement.

A large piece of a live oak tree covers the ground after a slow moving storm passed Beauvoir, Miss., on Wednesday, June 21, 2017. Slow-moving Tropical Storm Cindy sent drenching rain bands over the north Gulf Coast on Wednesday, swamping low-lying coastal roads in Alabama and pushing a waterspout ashore in Mississippi. (John Fitzhugh/The Sun Herald via AP)

Waves crash into the seawall at the small craft harbor at Jones Park, in Gulfport, Miss., after midnight, Wednesday, June 21, 2017. High tide and rain from feeder bands from Tropical Storm Cindy moved through the coast. (Tim Isbell/The Sun Herald via AP)

A heron walks along the water's edge at the small craft harbor at Jones Park, in Gulfport, Miss., Wednesday morning, June 21, 2017. Rising water from Tropical Storm Cindy covered the piers at the boat ramp as rain from feeder bands from Tropical Storm Cindy moved through the coast. (Tim Isbell/The Sun Herald, via AP)

Kathy Majors and her granddaughter, Chloe Schlunaker, 2, and her parents, Justin and Heather Schlunaker of D'Iberville, Miss., watch as waves crash against the shore at Moses Pier in Gulfport, Miss., on Wednesday, June 21, 2017 as Tropical Storm Cindy moved through the area. (John Fitzhugh/The Sun Herald via AP)

In this Tuesday, June 20, 2017 photo, a surfer rides a wave near the Okaloosa Island Fishing Pier near Fort Walton Beach, Fla.. Tropical Storm Cindy churned up the Gulf of Mexico, causing high surf and heavy winds along coastal northwest Florida. (Devon Ravine/Northwest Florida Daily News via AP)

Gulf Power employees repair a power pole that snapped, Wednesday, June 21, 2017, in Fort Walton Beach, Fla. A line of severe weather from Tropical Storm Cindy battered this northwest Florida community early Wednesday morning. (Devon Ravine/Northwest Florida Daily News via AP)

A wooden structure is embedded in backstop of a baseball field in Fort Walton Beach, Fla., Wednesday, June 21, 2017. A line of severe weather from Tropical Storm Cindy battered this northwest Florida community early Wednesday morning. [Devon Ravine/Northwest Florida Daily News via AP)

Volunteers put out sand bags due to the arrival of Tropical Storm Cindy in Lafitte, La., Wednesday, June 21, 2017. Tropical Storm Cindy sent drenching rain bands over the north Gulf Coast on Wednesday, swamping low-lying coastal roads and pushing a waterspout ashore in one beachfront community as residents from east Texas to the Florida Panhandle warily eyed the storm's slow crawl toward land. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Beachgoers walk along Okaloosa Island near Fort Walton Beach, Fla., on Tuesday, June 20, 2017. Tropical Storm Cindy has churned up the Gulf of Mexico, causing high surf and heavy winds along coastal northwest Florida. (Devon Ravine/Northwest Florida Daily News via AP)

The dugout of a baseball field is destroyed in Fort Walton Beach, Fla., on Tuesday, June 20, 2017, as severe weather from Tropical Storm Cindy brushed along the northwest coast of Florida Wednesday morning. (Devon Ravine/Northwest Florida Daily News via AP)

An unidentified man looks at a truck that was crushed by a falling tree in Fort Walton Beach, Florida on Wednesday, June 21, 2017. This Florida panhandle community was hit by a wave of severe weather Wednesday morning as Tropical Storm Cindy churns through the Gulf of Mexico. (Tom Mclaughlin/Northwest Florida Daily News via AP)

A Destin Beach Safety truck drives past tourists as it patrols the shoreline along Destin, Fla., on Wednesday, June 21, 2017. Tropical Storm Cindy has churned up the Gulf of Mexico, causing dangerous surf and closing beaches along the Florida panhandle. (Annie Blanks/Northwest Florida Daily News via AP)

Devin Salas, left, takes a selfie with his brother, Brandon, and parents Eric and Maryann Salas, in front of the the Gulf of Mexico near Fort Walton Beach, Fla., on Tuesday, June 20, 2017. Tropical Storm Cindy has churned up the Gulf of Mexico, causing high surf and heavy winds along coastal northwest Florida. (Devon Ravine/Northwest Florida Daily News via AP)

Storm surge and heavy rains associated with Tropical Storm Cindy cause flooding in many areas of the Mississippi coast, including this area at the foot of Washington Avenue just off Front Beach in Ocean Springs, Miss., Wednesday, June 21, 2017. (Warren Kulo/The Mississippi Press via AP)

Storm surge, coupled with high tide, leaves a pier on East Beach in Ocean Springs nearly submerged as Tropical Storm Cindy moves onshore in Ocean Springs, Miss., Wednesday, June 21, 2017. (Warren Kulo/The Mississippi Press via AP)

Vehicles navigate past waves and debris washing over State Highway 87 as Tropical Storm Cindy approaches Wednesday, June 21, 2017, in High Island, Texas. (Michael Ciaglo/Houston Chronicle via AP)

Nicole Cameron and Beverly Allison stock up on supplies Wednesday, June 21, 2017, at The Big Store on Bolivar Peninsula in preparation for the storm. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has ordered the State Operations Center to raise its readiness level. He also activated four Texas Task Force 1 boat squads and two Texas Military Department vehicles squads of five vehicles each to respond to any weather-related emergencies. (Guiseppe Barranco/The Beaumont Enterprise via AP)

Tricia Hayes records images of unusually large waves created by Tropical Storm Cindy on Bolivar Peninsula, Texas, Wednesday, June 21, 2017. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has ordered the State Operations Center to raise its readiness level. He also activated four Texas Task Force 1 boat squads and two Texas Military Department vehicles squads of five vehicles each to respond to any weather-related emergencies. (Guiseppe Barranco/The Beaumont Enterprise via AP)

Signage indicates to drivers that The Big Store on Bolivar Peninsula, Texas is out of gas as a storm pushed towards landfall Wednesday, June 21, 2017. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has ordered the State Operations Center to raise its readiness level. He also activated four Texas Task Force 1 boat squads and two Texas Military Department vehicles squads of five vehicles each to respond to any weather-related emergencies. (Guiseppe Barranco/The Beaumont Enterprise via AP)

Dustin Shelton fills sandbags at Orange County Precinct 3's maintenance barn in Bridge City, Texas, Wednesday, June 21, 2017, in preparation for Tropical Storm Cindy. (Ryan Pelham/The Beaumont Enterprise via AP)

Sydney Schultz takes photos of waves crashing next to Rollover Pass as Tropical Storm Cindy approaches the coast Wednesday, June 21, 2017 on the Bolivar Peninsula. (Michael Ciaglo /Houston Chronicle via AP)

Volunteers put out sand bags due to the arrival of Tropical Storm Cindy in Lafitte, La., Wednesday, June 21, 2017. Tropical Storm Cindy sent drenching rain bands over the north Gulf Coast on Wednesday, swamping low-lying coastal roads and pushing a waterspout ashore in one beachfront community as residents from east Texas to the Florida Panhandle warily eyed the storm's slow crawl toward land. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert2

Volunteers put out sand bags due to the arrival of Tropical Storm Cindy in Lafitte, La., Wednesday, June 21, 2017. Tropical Storm Cindy sent drenching rain bands over the north Gulf Coast on Wednesday, swamping low-lying coastal roads and pushing a waterspout ashore in one beachfront community as residents from east Texas to the Florida Panhandle warily eyed the storm's slow crawl toward land. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Jonas Cheramie, left, and his sister Lainey Cheramie, watch storm clouds from Tropical Storm Cindy, as they babysit A.J. Aaron, 5, in Lafitte, La., Wednesday, June 21, 2017. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Don Noel carries his daughter Alexis, 8, with his wife Lauren, right as they walk through a flooded roadway to check on their boat in the West End section of New Orleans, Wednesday, June 21, 2017. Tropical Storm Cindy formed Tuesday in the Gulf of Mexico, hovering south of Louisiana as it churned tides and spun bands of heavy, potentially flooding rain onto the central and eastern Gulf Coast. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Esther Martens walk through a flooded roadway to get to her car in the West End section of New Orleans, Wednesday, June 21, 2017. Tropical Storm Cindy formed Tuesday in the Gulf of Mexico, hovering south of Louisiana as it churned tides and spun bands of heavy, potentially flooding rain onto the central and eastern Gulf Coast. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Authorities watch people near the water at the Okaloosa Pier as heavy surf brought on by Tropical Storm Cindy pounds the pier supports in Fort Walton Beach, Fla, Wednesday, June 21, 2017. (Michael Snyder/Northwest Florida Daily News via AP)