Record flooding along the Toccoa River forced emergency crews to rescue dozens of people in the Georgia-Tennessee border towns of McCaysville and Copperhill, while disrupting local water service.
A gauge in Copperhill registered a record 18 feet (5.5 meters) Thursday morning, two feet (0.6 meters) above forecasters’ catastrophic threshold. The Tennessee Valley Authority said as much as eight to 10 inches (20 to 25 centimeters) of rain fell overnight between Blue Ridge and Ellijay, Georgia.
McCaysville Police Chief Michael Earley said responders rescued about 40 people overnight, with five or six more rescued Thursday morning. He said one firefighter had a minor injury and a few residents received treatment for suspected hypothermia or shock.
Earley said crews continued door-to-door checks and aerial searches by helicopter and drone, while power and cellphone outages complicated their work. Floodwater disabled the town’s treatment plant, prompting a boil-water advisory. The flood also left municipal dump trucks and heavy equipment inaccessible.
Robert Poole, a spokesperson for the Fannin County Emergency Management Agency, said water began receding by late Thursday morning. The agency warned that flood conditions could worsen even after rainfall ended.
The Associated Press reported that an August flood damaged McCaysville’s police station, post office, businesses and homes. The police station recently reopened after renovations. EconoTimes earlier reported that more than 30 people had been rescued while residents remained stranded in McCaysville.
