After record-breaking rainfall hit the Alabama Gulf Coast on April 6, Baldwin County is starting to assess the damage.

The cities of Spanish Fort and Daphne held special meetings with city leaders on Thursday to adopt resolutions declaring a state of emergency due to damage caused by the heavy rainfall the previous weekend. Many homes and areas were flooded, and the storm caused damage to local roadways.

During the meeting, Daphne Mayor Robin LeJeune thanked volunteer groups such as the American Red Cross for helping those affected as well as local emergency services for their efforts in aiding people during the storm. LeJeune said the fire department rescued 11 people and two dogs in the storm, including some from nearby Spanish Fort.

"It's a tragedy, and our hearts go out to everyone who has been affected by this," LeJeune said. "Not just people who have lost homes and lost possessions but the amount of pressure this puts on family members of those people, friends and everybody in the community."

Spanish Fort resident Sonya Van Cleave said there were two places in her ditch on her property that failed and drained water into her and her neighbor's yard, taking down two trees and submerging a portion of the property. She stated that this, along with similar cases in her neighborhood caused by the storm, indicates that the roads in Spanish Fort are not being properly maintained.

"We had a lot of damage, and the fact that the road is not being maintained and the fact that the ditches aren't being maintained, and I know that FEMA is hopefully going to get involved in this, we do need to have some financial relief to the damage that was done," Van Cleave said.

Spanish Fort Mayor Michael McMillan said he was unaware of any road or ditch issues but said the city will take a look at it as they assess the damage done by the storm, identifying more than $10 million worth of repairs needed to be done.

On April 6, flash flooding severely affected Mobile and Baldwin counties, with Daphne receiving nearly 13 inches of rain and Spanish Fort officials warning residents to stay indoors. Several cars were stranded as a result of the weather, including one vehicle that became stranded near Daphne's Jubilee Square. The warnings stayed in effect until the next day.

With both Spanish Fort and Daphne declaring state of emergencies, both cities have been working with state officials on how to proceed. Residents who have suffered flood damage can report the damage to the Baldwin County Emergency Management Agency using its official channels.

Gulf Coast Media will continue to follow this story and provide updates on the damage and recovery efforts as they become available.