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Alabama Officials Warn Of Floating Fire Ants As Cindy Floods Gulf Coast

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Tropical storm Cindy has been downgraded to a depression but it's still a threat, raising concerns about floods, strong winds and even floating fire ants.

Cindy made landfall overnight as a tropical storm with sheets of pounding rain and powerful winds in southwest Louisiana.

The rising floodwater reached mailboxes in some places and a canoe was the only way for some people to get around Thursday morning to survey the damage.

The storm dumped as much as 10 inches of rain along the Gulf Coast, forcing drivers to abandon cars on washed out roads.

"I was gonna drive through it but it was a little too deep to go in there with the car," said Lakeview resident Rick Owners.

Cindy's whipping winds caused trouble as far east as Mobile, Alabama where a tree toppled into a home.

"I'm thankful nobody got hurt, the stuff in the house is just stuff, it can be replaced," said JaMarcus Forrest, who lives in the house.

In Florida, a tornado touched down destroying a ball field and uprooting a tree that flattened a truck.

"I'm not usually one for a loss of words. But I am now. I just can't get over this," said resident Leigh Anne Lynch.

In Biloxi the heavy downpours have been happening off and on for three days. The saturated ground and winds have led to concerns about falling trees. The water is also already knee deep in some parts of the state.

The National Weather Service says flash flooding is possible in parts of Texas, Mississippi and Arkansas. Some areas could receive six more inches of rain before the system moves out later Thursday.

Severe weather is being blamed for the death of a 10-year-old boy from the St. Louis area who was killed on an Alabama beach Wednesday when he was struck in the head by a log that washed ashore.

Meanwhile, officials in Alabama are warning that floating colonies of fire ants could form in flood waters as the storm trudges inland.

The Alabama Cooperative Extension System said in a statement that the floating colonies may look like ribbons, streamers or a large ball of ants floating on the water.

(© Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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