Pointing to a “sea of red ink,” the head of the state-backed Citizens Property Insurance Corp. described a private insurance industry Wednesday that is losing gobs of money while homeowners face soaring rates and trouble finding coverage.

VENICE, Fla. – A 6-foot alligator that got stuck in a storm drain was freed by some Florida deputies. A jogger in Venice, Florida first spotted the stuck gator Tuesday morning and reported it to deputies, according to a tweet from the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office. Deputies responded to Cerromar Terr., Venice, to help this 6’ 🐊 free himself from a storm drain. pic.twitter.com/2rQTpN8W3c — SarasotaSheriff (@SarasotaSheriff) December 21, 2020Deputies lifted a concrete slab that helped the gator wiggle free, the sheriff's office said. The gator was later freed after a trapper was called but did not respond, the sheriff’s office said.

Dominque Fusco had been waiting for unemployment benefits for 13 weeks when Hurricane Sally delivered the final blow she did not need. The Pensacola woman and her husband were forced to leave their apartment after flooding from the Category 1 storm she said “totally destroyed” their apartment and most of their belongings. “My husband, I and two animals (huskies) had to swim to our truck to get out,” Fusco said. Fusco said she had not seen a change in her DEO account status despite having told supervisors she lost her home to Hurricane Sally. On Sept. 16 the seventh hurricane of the very active 2020 hurricane season battered the city of Pensacola and Escambia County causing an estimated $124 million in damages.

While the cleanup pressed on, the record-shattering hurricane season notched another milestone: Forecasters ran out of traditional names for storms after three new systems formed in about six hours. In Loxley, Alabama, Catherine Williams lost power and some of her roof to Sally. The same practice will govern storm names for the rest of hurricane season, which lasts until the end of November. The only other time the hurricane center dipped into the Greek alphabet was the deadly 2005 hurricane season, which included Hurricane Katrina's strike on New Orleans. She was concerned because more than two months are left in hurricane season.

Elaine and Jack Hulgan pose for a portrait after riding out the hurricane in their attic, Thursday, Sept. 17, 2020, in Cantonment, Fla. Rivers swollen by Hurricane Sally's rains threatened more misery for parts of the Florida Panhandle and south Alabama on Thursday, as the storm's remnants continued to dump heavy rains inland that spread the threat of flooding to Georgia and the Carolinas. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

(AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)CANTONMENT, Fla. – The firetrucks and rescue vehicles kept passing her house even after Elaine Hulgan, 76, wrote “IN ATTIC HELP” on the front door. The Florida couple was trapped in their home after Hurricane Sally lumbered ashore Wednesday morning near Gulf Shores, Alabama, with 105 mph (165 kph) winds. “I wouldn’t wish it on anyone,” Elaine Hulgan said. “When they kept going by and not seeing us, I told Jack, ‘Jack, are the four of us going to die in this house?’” Elaine said. Elaine Hulgan said they’re not sure where they might live while their home is being repaired, but they’re also thankful to be alive.

SpaceX was targeting Thursday afternoon to launch its 13th batch of Starlink satellites into orbit on a Falcon 9 rocket but the company decided to stand down on the attempt to to an issue with the rocket landing site at sea. The company also confirmed one half of the Falcon 9 rocket’s nose cone previously launched two other batches of Starlink satellites. Targeting September 17 at 2:19 p.m. EDT for Falcon 9 launch of 60 Starlink satellites from Launch Complex 39A — SpaceX (@SpaceX) September 16, 2020SpaceX last launched 60 Starlink satellites on Sept. 3, bringing the company’s total to near 700 spacecraft in orbit with the goal of providing high-speed internet to the world. SpaceX plans to roll out internet service in the U.S. and Canada later this year, according to the Starlink website. Check back to ClickOrlando.com/space for updates leading up to launch and watch live at the top of this story.

(AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)PENSACOLA, Fla. – Rescuers on the Gulf Coast used boats and high-water vehicles Thursday to reach people cut off by floodwaters in the aftermath of Hurricane Sally, even as a second round of flooding took shape along rivers and creeks swollen by the storm’s heavy rains. Crews carried out at least 400 rescues in Escambia County, Florida, by such means as high-water vehicles, boats and water scooters, authorities said. Also on Thursday, the National Hurricane Center said a new tropical depression formed in the southwestern Gulf of Mexico. Forecasters said the depression could become a tropical storm as it moves slowly over the western Gulf during the next few days. Meanwhile, Hurricane Teddy strengthened to a powerful Category 4 storm in the Atlantic.

___MIAMI — A new tropical depression has formed in the Gulf just hours after Hurricane Sally left. There was no threat to land as of Thursday night, but the center says the depression could become a tropical storm on Friday. ___PENSACOLA, Fla. — Although once-powerful Hurricane Sally is no longer a serious storm, flooding is still a problem along rivers and creeks swollen by its heavy rains. ___PENSACOLA, Fla. — Rescuers on the Gulf Coast are using high-water vehicles to reach people cut off by floodwaters in the aftermath of Hurricane Sally. ___MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Though Hurricane Sally has passed, officials in Alabama and Florida are warning that the disaster isn't over yet.

Hurricane Sally caused the tide to rise about four feet (1.2 meters) in Pascagoula on Missisippi’s Gulf Coast. It’s chaotic.”------MIAMI -- Tropical Storm Sally has begun to spread heavy rains into the U.S. Southeast as it moves inland at a faster-than-expected pace. --PENSACOLA, Fla. -- Several boats docked at a pier in Pensacola, Florida, have sunk as Sally moved over the Gulf Coast. Kay Ivey says some areas of the state are seeing historic flood levels from slow-moving Hurricane Sally and more flooding is expected throughout the day. --MIAMI -- Hurricane Sally has decreased to a Category 1 storm as it pounds the Gulf Coast, but remains a dangerous rainmaker.

– As rain and wind from Sally starting reaching the Gulf Coast, the manager of a Mississippi alligator ranch was just hoping he wouldn’t have to deal with a repeat of what happened during Hurricane Katrina. That’s when about 250 alligators escaped their enclosures as storm surge pushed water over the grounds. “I’m thinking a sigh of relief somewhat,” said manager Tim Parker, who took over Gulf Coast Gator Ranch & Tours after Katrina. 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.

Hurricane Sally made landfall near the Florida-Alabama state line as a Category 2 storm in the early morning hours Wednesday, bringing storm surge and torrential rain. Waves break ashore near the Gulf State Park pier as the outer bands of Hurricane Sally come ashore on Sept. 15 in Gulf Shores, Alabama. (2020 Getty Images)A driver navigates along a flooded road as the outer bands of Hurricane Sally come ashore on Sept. 15, 2020 in Bayou La Batre, Alabama. (2020 Getty Images)Water floods a road as the outer bands of Hurricane Sally come ashore on Sept. 15 in Gulf Shores, Alabama. (2020 Getty Images)A man walks though a flooded parking lot as the outer bands of Hurricane Sally come ashore on Sept. 15 in Gulf Shores, Alabama.

Hurricane Sally officially made landfall at 5:45 a.m. EDT on Sept. 16 as a Category 2 storm in Gulf Shores, Alabama. Sally made landfall on the 16 year anniversary of Hurricane Ivan, a Category 3 hurricane that also came ashore in Gulf Shores. Ivan officially made landfall at 3 a.m. Hurricane Ivan track from 2004Ivan at one time was an extremely powerful Category 5 storm as it moved through the Caribbean. Ivan famously made a loop-the-loop after emerging back into the Atlantic, impacting South Florida as a much weaker system.

As the system slowly moves away from the Orlando area, however, rain chances here will decrease a bit. Hurricane Sally’s northern eyewall is raking the Gulf Coast with hurricane-force winds and rain from Pensacola Beach, Florida westward to Dauphin Island, Alabama, the National Hurricane Center said. Stacy Stewart, a senior specialist with the National Hurricane Center says the Category 2 hurricane could strengthen further before the entire eyewall moves inland. Sally was a rare storm that could make history, said Ed Rappaport, deputy director of the National Hurricane Center. With Hurricane Sally expected to dump rain for days, the problem could be worse than normal, she said.

A curfew was called in the coastal Alabama city of Gulf Shores due to life-threatening conditions. The county includes Pensacola, one of the largest cities on the Gulf Coast. Landfall was expected on the northern Gulf Coast early Wednesday. Although the hurricane had the Alabama and Florida coasts in its sights Wednesday, its effects were felt all along the northern Gulf Coast. With Hurricane Sally expected to dump rain for days, the problem could be worse than normal, she said.

People play in a flooded parking lot at Navarre Beach, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2020, in Pensacola Beach, Fla. Hurricane Sally is crawling toward the northern Gulf Coast at just 2 mph, a pace that's enabling the storm to gather huge amounts of water to eventually dump on land. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)Here are the latest developments on tropical weather (all times local):PENSACOLA, Fla. — Sally has restrengthened into a powerful Category 2 hurricane as it veers eastward and crawls toward a potential landfall between the Florida Panhandle and Mobile Bay. The National Hurricane Center said early Wednesday that the storm's sustained winds had increased to 100 mph (161 kph). The latest forecast track has the hurricane making landfall later Wednesday morning. About 1 a.m. EDT Wednesday, Sally was centered about 65 miles (105 kilometers) southeast of Mobile, Alabama, and 60 miles (95 kilometers) southwest of Pensacola, Florida.

Here's the latest on Hurricane Sally and the other systems swirling in the tropicsPublished: September 15, 2020, 12:42 pmHere's the latest on Hurricane Sally and the other systems swirling in the tropics

ORLANDO, Fla. – Hurricane Sally will make landfall late Tuesday or early Wednesday likely near the Alabama-Mississippi border while bringing more moisture to Central Florida. * Formation chance through 48 hours, low, 10 percent. * Formation chance through 5 days, high, 70 percent. * Formation chance through 48 hours, low, 10 percent. * Formation chance through 5 days, low, 20 percent.

Waters from the Guld of Mexico poor onto a local road, Monday, Sept. 14, 2020, in Waveland, Miss. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbrt)Here are the latest developments on tropical weather (all times local):___The Florida Panhandle is being pummeled by heavy rains from Hurricane Sally’s outer bands. The powerful, plodding storm was crawling toward the northern Gulf Coast at 3 mph (4.8 kph) early Tuesday. Florida’s governor declared an emergency in two western Panhandle counties. President Donald Trump issued an emergency declaration for Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.

Hurricane Sally is expected to make landfall along the Gulf Coast sometime through the night and morning. – Hurricane Sally, a plodding but powerful storm with winds of 100 mph, crept toward the northern Gulf Coast early Tuesday, with forecasters warning of potentially deadly storm surges, flash floods spurred by up to 2 feet (.61 meters) of rain and the possibility of tornadoes. Claunch marveled at how the Gulf waters had already crept over swaths of sandy shore and infiltrated bike paths and parking lots. Sally achieved hurricane strength Monday and quickly intensified to a Category 2 storm with 100 mph (161 kph) winds. Forecasters expect winds to increase to up to 110 mph (177 kph) over the warm Gulf waters before the storm blows ashore.

This satellite photo provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows Tropical Storm Sally, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2020, at 2050 GMT. Sally churned northward on Sunday, poised to turn into a hurricane and send a life-threatening storm surge along the northern Gulf of Mexico. (NOAA via AP)Here are the latest developments on tropical weather (all times local):4 p.m.A rapidly intensifying Hurricane Sally is closing in on the northern Gulf Coast Sally after reaching Category 2 strength. The National Hurricane Center in Miami says Sally has grown into an extremely dangerous hurricane with top sustained winds of 100 mph (155 kph). The storm could drop as much as 2 feet (0.6 meters) of rain in spots and that could bring severe flooding, according to the center.

ORLANDO, Fla. – How many systems in the tropics can the National Hurricane Center track at one time? The hurricane center was monitoring seven systems until Rene dissipated over the central Atlantic Monday afternoon. The latest advisory from the National Hurricane Center showed Sally’s wind speeds had jumped to 100 mph, making it a Category 2 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Here is the 5 p.m. advisory and forecast track from the National Hurricane Center. Hurricane Paulette, meanwhile, was moving north-northeastward away from Bermuda as a Category 2 hurricane Monday afternoon at 15 mph, packing 105-mph winds, according to the hurricane center.