MCCAYSVILLE, Ga. — Overnight storms dumped a wall of rain on Georgia’s northern mountains, sending the Toccoa River over its banks, trapping residents and shutting schools across two counties Thursday.
Forecasters posted a flash-flood emergency for McCaysville after parts of Fannin and Gilmer counties took about five or six inches of rain in just a few hours. A separate warning also blanketed Murray and Union counties in the early hours.
By about 7 a.m., the river gauge here climbed to roughly 18.05 feet, beating the old mark of 17.75 feet from Feb. 16, 1990. Downtown streets held several feet of water. Some buildings took water to the roof line, propane tanks and debris drifted past storefronts, and the police chief said floodwaters carried off one of the department’s patrol cars.
Boat crews from Georgia, Tennessee and North Carolina worked flooded neighborhoods. Officials said rescuers had pulled at least 30 people to safety by morning, and a county school bus moved some of them to a recreation-center shelter. Georgia State Patrol put a helicopter on call for daylight aerial lifts if ground teams could not reach stranded homes.
City leaders sealed McCaysville to anyone without a reason to be there. Fannin and Gilmer school systems canceled Thursday classes after washouts, mudslides and debris closed roads. Blue Ridge crews were still surveying damage. Emergency managers told residents to stay off flooded roads, move uphill if water rises toward them, and keep lanes open for first responders. People who can travel safely can shelter at the recreation center in Blue Ridge that Fannin County is using for evacuees.
Filed under: Atlanta GA Weather News
