Heavy rain washed out roads, closed schools and forced a few evacuations in Gilmer County overnight, leaving some residents with no way to leave their homes Wednesday.
About six roads were washed out, stranding some residents of the county 75 miles north of Atlanta. “Our first concern is for people to be able to get in or out, and especially for emergency vehicles,” Jim Smith, Gilmer County’s public works director, told Channel 2 Action News.
County officials late Wednesday morning posted a list on Facebook of 20 roads that were affected, some by flooding, and others by mudslides and washed out bridges. The rain tapered off in Gilmer and neighboring counties around noon.
The weather system dumped as much as an estimated half-foot of rain on parts of extreme north Georgia Tuesday and overnight, prompting school officials in Gilmer and Fannin counties to cancel Wednesday classes.
"Several roads are closed or impassable making it unsafe for buses to transport students," school officials reported early Wednesday on the Gilmer County Schools website. "The Coosawattee River is reaching action state and some evacuations are taking place."
In neighboring Fannin County, the school system posted this message Wednesday morning on Facebook: "Due to flooding conditions on roadways, and since the conditions are expected to worsen throughout the day, all schools in Fannin County will be closed today."
The American Red Cross of Northwest Georgia said it was “standing by” to provide assistance following a mudslide that destroyed two homes and affected 30 others. The organization was also assisting “multiple” families in the Summerville area.
A shelter was opened Wednesday morning for evacuated residents at the Gilmer Middle School gymnasium.
A flood warning remained in effect through late Wednesday afternoon for Gilmer and Fannin counties, as well as for Gordon, Murray, Union, Walker, Towns, Catoosa, Dade, Chattooga, Whitfield, Floyd and northern Pickens counties.
A flood watch that had been posted for Atlanta’s northern suburbs was dropped late Wednesday morning as the rain tapered off.
Channel 2 meteorologist Karen Minton said the cold front that pushed the rain out will bring much cooler temperatures to metro Atlanta, Minton said.
She said skies will be sunny the rest of the week and into the weekend, with highs in the mid-50s and lows in the mid- to upper 30s.
