Reuters8:07 p.m. CDT, June 9, 2012


(Adds details on emergency actions in Pensacola)By Verna Gates
BIRMINGHAM, Ala., June 9 (Reuters) - A storm moving across
the U.S. Gulf Coast battered parts of Alabama and Florida with
up to 18 inches (4 6 cm) of rain on Saturday with authorities in
Pensacola, Florida, declaring a state of emergency and sending
out boats to rescue residents of flooded homes.The heavy rains in the region began on Friday night. The
storm is due to winds picking up tropical moisture and streaming
it fr om New Orleans in the Gulf Coast to Jacksonville on
Florida's eastern coast.
Mobile, Alabama, saw 15 inches (38 cm) of rain that stranded
people in cars and caused a dam to break on a private lake,
officials said.
Pensacola and Mobile, which are less than 60 miles (97 km)
a part, have been the worst-hit areas, said Mike Pigott, senior
meteorologist with private firm Accuweather.com. Those have
"kind of been two bul l's ey es to be honest with you," he said.
The two cities are along the Gulf Coast's Interstate-10