19 Rescued, State Of Emergency Issued As GA Town Floods

MCCAYSVILLE, GA — A Georgia town is recovering after floodwaters rushed its downtown area due to significant drainage issues, forcing a state of emergency order and the rescue of 19 people Sunday.

Residents were asked to steer clear of McCaysville city limits due to flooding that inundated its downtown. McCaysville Police Chief Michael Earley said the drainage concern was connected to road construction at State Highway 5.

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Several local businesses have sustained flood damage, and Blue Ridge Drive was shut down until further notice, Earley said in updates shared on Facebook.

"We ask everyone to keep our community, our residents, our business owners and our first responders in your thoughts and prayers as we work together through this emergency," he said. "We appreciate your patience, support and cooperation as crews respond to this situation and begin the recovery process."

In addition to the state of emergency, McCaysville residents were placed under a boil water advisory and were asked to conserve water.

Agencies from other local areas were tapped to assist with the recovery, including the Hiwasseee Dam Fire Department and Peachtree Fire and Rescue.

"We arrived to downtown McCaysville GA to a disaster zone. A wall of water and mud had washed through downtown as a result of nearly 9 inches of rain in a short period of time. Many creeks had risen to near record levels and the Toccoa/Ocoee River had also risen," Hiwassee fire officials wrote in an update posted to Facebook on Sunday.

The department said 19 people were rescued from flooded homes. No one was injured.

Earley said residents were asked to only use if it was an "absolute emergency." This is because the inundation led to power loss at the water treatment plant and large amount of treated water.

On Monday, Earley said cleanup crews remained working, and a truck would be hauling in bottled water into the north Georgia town.