Gordon Kills Child in Florida, Knocks Out Power to 40,000 on Gulf Coast

Although Gordon weakened rapidly after making landfall Tuesday night along the Mississippi coast, its wind and rainfall sill left thousands in the dark and claimed one life.

A child was killed when winds knocked a large tree limb onto a mobile home in West Pensacola, Florida, on Tuesday evening, according to Escambia County Emergency Management.

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More than 40,000 homes and businesses lost power in Florida, Alabama and Mississippi, according to PowerOutage.us.

Flooding overtook the streets of Dauphin Island ahead of Gordon's arrival, making many impassable. About half the island lost power in the storm, Mayor Jeff Collier told the Associated Press, mostly on the western end of the barrier island.

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A water rescue was reported by the Dauphin Island Fire Department near the public beach Tuesday afternoon. The two people in the water were successfully pulled from the water.

As the rain continued to fall in southwestern Alabama, roads were washed out by floodwaters in Clarke County.

By Wednesday morning, Gordon, which came ashore about 30 miles east of Biloxi, was downgraded to a tropical depression as it moved northwestward in Mississippi.

Double red flags flew Wednesday at beaches in Destin, Panama City, Pensacola and South Walton, Florida, as well as Gulf Shores and Orange Beach, Alabama, forbidding anyone from entering the water, according to AL.com.