Flooding, Tornadoes Put Alabama in State of Emergency

December 28, 2015
On Christmas Day, the entire state of Alabama was placed under a state of emergency related to excessive rainfall and flooding. Alabama experienced record rainfall and record temperatures. Rivers in Alabama that exceeded the flood stage include the Pea, Alabama, Tennessee, Flint, Coosa and Black Warrior. On Christmas Day, a F-2 tornado hit a five- to six-block residential section of Birmingham, destroying at least 72 structures, while EF-0 tornado occurred over a five-mile area in Tuscaloosa County near Coaling.
As a result, the president has made federal disaster relief available for governmental entities in 39 counties. The U.S. Small Business Administration also has approved disaster assistance for 25 of the affected counties. SBA Business Physical Disaster Loans of up to $2 million are available to repair or replace property damaged by the Dec. 24-31 disaster. Damaged real estate, inventories, supplies, machinery and equipment owned by the business could be included. Businesses of any size are eligible. Businesses in the disaster area that suffered economic injury may also borrow up to $2 million. For information about the loans, call the SBA’s Customer Service Center at 800-659-2955.

Gov. Robert Bentley issued an emergency declaration effective Friday, Dec. 25.

> > Governor’s Christmas Day news release related to the emergency declaration

>> Alabama Emergency Management Agency encourages residents and motorists to maintain safety and awareness of the dangers of flooding (AEMA Dec. 26, 2015, news release)

>> State EMA officials working hard to expedite process to federal assistance (Dec. 31, 2015)

>> SBA disaster assistance approved for Coffee, Jefferson, Montgomery and Morgan counties (Jan. 15, 2016)

>> President declares disaster for state of Alabama (Jan. 22, 2016)

When Alabama experiences a state of emergency, Alabama’s price gouging law is in effect.

ALABAMA’S PRICE GOUGING LAW: Makes it unlawful for anyone to raise prices on commodities or lodging by more than 25 percent during the declared state of emergency. To avoid violating Alabama’s price gouging law, figure the price charged for each of the previous 30 days. Add the 30 daily prices, divide by 30, and multiply the price by .25, or 25 percent, to figure the maximum price increase allowed for any one day. The exception is if a wholesale price increases by more than 25 percent and merchants have no choice but to pass along the price increase.

The fine for violating Alabama’s price gouging law can be up to $1,000 per incident. Those who willfully and continually violate the law can be banned from doing business in Alabama.

The emergency proclamation allows truck drivers delivering disaster-related supplies and goods to exceed the hours of service or spend less time off duty than required by federal law. The waiver only applies to the time a driver is delivering the disaster supplies for up to five days after the emergency declaration, or until the declaration ends. Under federal law, a driver may drive only during a period of 14 consecutive hours after coming on duty following 10 consecutive hours off duty. The proclamation loosens that regulation only as it relates to the timely delivery of disaster supplies for the five days after the emergency declaration.

ROAD CLOSURES
The main site for the latest road and bridge closures and openings can be found at Alabama Department of Transportation Road Conditions. You can print off reports for counties where you operate from that site and it is updated regularly. Because of the volume of usage, the site may be slow to respond.

OVERWEIGHT OR OVERSIZE LOADS
For information on permitting related to oversize or overweight loads, contact the Alabama Department of Transportation’s Vehicle Enforcement Office from 7 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. CST Monday – Friday.

EMERGENCY NUMBERS:

  • For medical and life-threatening emergencies, dial 9-1-1.
  • Drivers can report an accident or other emergencies to state troopers by dialing *HP on their cellular devices.
  • Businesses that want to know how to help or donate to relief efforts, call 2-1-1.

WEATHER INFORMATION:
Click the links below for more of your local weather information.

Huntsville http://www.srh.noaa.gov/hun/
Birmingham http://www.srh.noaa.gov/bmx/
Mobile http://www.srh.noaa.gov/mob/

Visit Alabama Retail’s Emergency Preparedness page for other links to the state’s emergency management resources.