‘Sigh of Relief': Sally Spares a Mississippi Gator Ranch
The owner of a Mississippi alligator ranch who lost all 250 gators in Hurricane Katrina says he is glad Sally spared his facility
By Stacey Plaisance •
AP Photo/Stacey Plaisance
In this image made from video, an alligator is seen on Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2020, in Moss Point, Miss. As Hurricane Sally’s outer bands reached the U.S. Gulf Coast and landfall was imminent, the manager of Gulf Coast Gator Ranch and Tours was hoping he wouldn’t have to live a repeat of what happened at the gator farm during Hurricane Katrina in 2005, when about 250 alligators escaped their enclosures.
Drone footage shows major flooding from Hurricane Sally in Gulf Shores, Ala.
Earlier this week, forecasters said Hurricane Sally could push up to 9 feet (2.7 meters) of ocean water surging into the swamps and wetlands where the gators roam, floating them up and over the fences around the farm. As the hurricane moved east of Mississippi, the surge forecast was reduced to no more than 4 feet (1.2 meters).
Parker’s farm has alligators up to 14 feet long, roaming and swimming through ponds, sand dunes and tall marsh grass. Visitors can take air boat rides or walking paths to see the gators in their natural habitat and learn about the animals. It’s been around about 45 years.
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Flood waters cover a Pensacola, Florida, street, Sept. 16, 2020. Hurricane Sally made landfall early Wednesday morning 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.
Santa Rosa County Emergency Management
A section of the Pensacola Three Mile Bridge collapses after Hurricane Sandy made its way inland early Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2020, in Pensacola, Florida.
City of Gulf Breeze
A crane collapses on the Pensacola Three Mile bridge between Gulf Breeze and Pensacola, Florida, Sept. 16, 2020. High winds and rain drenched parts of the Gulf Coast from Alabama to Florida as Hurricane Sally inched inland.
Gerald Herbert/AP
Flood waters cover a Pensacola, Florida, street, Sept. 16, 2020. Hurricane Sally made landfall early Wednesday morning 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.
Vicky Collins
Storm surge flood parts of Perdido Key, Florida, Sept. 16, 2020.
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Flood waters cover a downtown Pensacola, Florida, street, Sept. 16, 2020.
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People take shelter as the winds and rain from Hurricane Sally pass through Mobile, Alabama, Sept. 16, 2020.
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Hurricane Sally passes through Mobile, Alabama, on Sept. 16, 2020.
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People use flashlights as they walk on flooded streets looking for their car, Sept. 16, 2020, in Pensacola, Florida.
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A police officer escorts a resident as they inspect damages from the fallen tree during Hurricane Sally in Pascagoula, Mississippi, Sept. 16, 2020.
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A felled tree lies across a road as Hurricane Sally hit in Pascagoula, Mississippi, Sept. 16, 2020. Sally barreled into the Gulf Coast early Wednesday morning, with forecasts of drenching rains that could provoke “historic” and potentially deadly flash floods.
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A road near the marina floods hours before Hurricane Sally makes landfall on the Gulf Coast in Pascagoula, Mississippi, Sept. 15, 2020.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Water floods a road as the outer bands of Hurricane Sally hit Gulf Shores, Alabama, Sept. 15, 2020.
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A road near the marina floods hours before Hurricane Sally makes landfall on the Gulf Coast in Pascagoula, Mississippi, Sept. 15, 2020.
Gerald Herbert/AP
People play in a flooded parking lot at Navarre Beach, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2020, in Pensacola Beach, Florida.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
A driver drives along a flooded road as the outer bands of Hurricane Sally hit Bayou La Batre, Alabama, Sept. 15, 2020. The storm is threatening to bring heavy rain, high winds and a dangerous storm surge from Louisiana to Florida.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
A shopper looks for bread in a cleaned out supermarket as people prep for Hurricane Sally, Sept. 15, 2020, in Bayou La Batre, Alabama. The storm is threatening to bring heavy rain, high winds and a dangerous storm surge from Louisiana to Florida.
Gerald Herbert/AP
Waves crash near a pier, at Gulf State Park, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2020, in Gulf Shores, Alabama. Hurricane Sally is crawling toward the northern Gulf Coast at just 3 mph, a pace that’s enabling the storm to gather huge amounts of water to eventually dump on land.
