Sally could bring historic flooding to U.S. Gulf coast

[NFA] The slow-moving storm threatened low-laying areas with up to two feet of rain and nine-foot storm surges.

This report produced by Zachary Goelman.

As Hurricane Sally churned toward the U.S. Gulf Coast Tuesday, some residents around Gulfport, Mississippi stocked up on gasoline, planning to ride out to the storm.

Others, such as Janet Ryan, were clearing out.

"I'll be headed to Metairie, I packed up what I need for a couple of weeks because I don't know how much water will be here." The National Hurricane Center said the slow-moving storm threatened to deliver historic flooding with more than two feet of rain in some areas.

Forecasts warned Sally could wallop the Mississippi, Alabama and Florida coasts with storm surges of up to nine feet.

The governors of Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana called for evacuations of low-lying areas and President Donald Trump made emergency declarations for all three states, which helps coordinate disaster relief.

Property data and analytics firm CoreLogic estimates nearly 11,000 homes are at risk in the larger coastal cities.

Sally is the 18th named storm in the Atlantic this year and will be the eighth tropical storm or hurricane this season to hit the United States.