BIRMINGHAM (September 21, 2009)—Students throughout Bibb County, Ala. got an unexpected day off Monday after officials closed schools because of floods and heavy rain.

Rushing water made roads too dangerous for school buses in the suburban Birmingham county, officials said.

Some residents were stranded by rising water and rescuers used boats to reach them.

The level of the Cahaba River rose enough that business owners in Brent, Ala. sandbagged doors, but water still swept into the stores.