State of Emergency Issued For Chattooga, Floyd Counties

GEORGIA — Gov. Brian Kemp has declared a state of emergency for Chattooga and Floyd counties due to heavy rainfall and flooding through Oct. 4.

In an executive order, Kemp said the counties were placed under a flash flood warning early Sunday morning.

He said the severe weather caused about 12 inches of rainfall and "will likely continue to cause rivers to rise rapidly, causing significant localized downstream flooding."

The Associated Press reported Sunday that the National Weather Service asked residents to avoid non-emergency travel around 3:10 p.m. as another round of emergency rainfall entered the area.

Kemp's order co-exists with a state of emergency for supply chain disruptions, which was previously put into effect until Oct. 12.

The governor said the Chattooga and Floyd counties need assistance based on assessments from county emergency management agencies and the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency.

Both Floyd and Chattooga were on a list of north and central Georgia counties under a hazardous weather outlook released Tuesday by the NWS.

Scattered showers and few isolated thunderstorms were predicted for the afternoon into the evening, with north Georgia counties having the highest chances.

Locally heavy rainfall, gusty winds and frequent lightning are forecast for the remainder of the week.