Flash Flooding and Hail in Georgia, June 16 to 19, 2003

The White county 911 center reported that two males, one a 9-year old and the other a 44-year old, were injured when struck by lightning. The injuries were reported to be minor.

The public reported penny-sized hail in Tucker near Interstate 285 and LaVista Road.

The public reported golf ball-sized hail.

The local newspaper for Jonesboro reported that lightning struck the Clayton County sewage transfer plant resulting in the spillage of over 150,000 gallons of treated sewage into the Flint River. This occurred when the lightning rendered the pump at the station inoperable. The spill was not known because the automatic system, which notifies the plant of such failures, was also rendered inoperative by the lightning strike.

The Forsyth county Emergency Management Director reported that very heavy rain from persistent thunderstorms caused flooding in the basement of a home.

The public reported nickel-sized hail.

The Fosyth county Emergency Management Director reported that some trees were blown down.

The Summerville News reported that a large number of trees had been blown down across the county by thunderstorm winds, although the majority of the monetary damage was noted in Summerville. The downed trees caused damage to three homes. One home in Summerville suffered extensive damage when a tree fell through the roof. A number of power lines were also brought down as the trees fell. A street sign was blown from a pole in downtown Summerville and a window was blown out a local attorney's office in downtown. The public also reported pea-sized hail during the event.

A SkyWarn spotter for the Gwinnett County ARIES reported a wind gust to 60 mph.

The Hall county 911 center reported that several trees and power lines were down.

The Gordon county 911 center reported that a few trees were down.

Fox 5 News of Atlanta reported that extensive flooding was occurring across the eastern portion of Cobb county. Nearly two feet of water was flowing over Paper Mill Road at Sope Creek. Johnson Ferry Road near Connemara Drive and Dartmoor Drive was completely underwater. Residents of the West Chase Apartment Homes and Oakhill Town Home Association were stranded when flood waters caused a 20-feet deep and 6-feet wide sink hole causing the closure of Six Flags Parkway. Shallowford and Lassiter Drive in east Cobb county were also flooded. Several roads were washed out and had to be closed.

Fox 5 News of Atlanta reported that extensive flooding was occurring in the Brookhaven area. Several hundred people in Brookhaven had to be rescued from their apartments. This flooding was attributed to the rapid rise of Peachtree Creek. In some places the water was 10 feet deep. Several other roads across the northern portion of the county were also flooded, including Clairmont Road and Buford Highway. One resident on Drew Valley Road in Decatur reported that her neighbor's play set washed into her yard over an 8 foot fence.

The Gwinnett county 911 center, as well as the county Skywarn, and local newspapers reported extensive flooding of roads and streets across much of the county. Flash flooding essentially began in the Dacula area as a thunderstorm dumped over one inch of rain per hour between 11 pm EDT Monday the 16th and 130 am EDT Tuesday the 17th. Rainfall of three to five inches was common between midnight EDT and 8 am EDT the 17th across much of the county. By 1251 am EDT, at least 3 inches of water was flowing over Rutherford Road and Superior Road in Dacula, but the road was still passable. By 1:20 am EDT, however, significant flooding was reported on many streets in Dacula as the very heavy rain continued. By 133 am EDT, the intersection of Springdale Road and Georgia Highway 124 in Snellville was four feet under water in Snellville. By 149 am EDT, U.S. Highway 29, Winder Highway, had two feet of water flowing over it and was going to be closed by local law enforcement authorities. Later a 48-inch water line at this location was washed away. A bridge on Hillcrest Road was three feet under water during the height of the storm. In Lilburn, residents of several homes in the Connemara subdivision area at Hillcrest Road and Indian Trail, near Interstate-85, had to be evacuated as flood waters from the Yellow River and Sweetwater Creek stranded them in their neighborhood and threatened their homes. One home in the area reported nearly 2 feet of water flowing through their backyard. A sink hole was reported to have developed on Fence Road in this area. Extensive flooding of roads was also reported in Duluth during the late night and early morning hours. Several homes, about one-quarter mile northeast of U.S. Highway 29 and Sugarloaf Parkway in Lawrenceville, were flooded. All together, 13 roads in the county had to be closed because of flooding. Other structures also suffered damage from the flood waters, including a greenhouse business on Georgia Highway 124, with an estimated loss of $7,000 dollars, and the historic Alcovy River Gristmill dam, on which the upper three feet of the dam were lost from the force of the flood waters. A sewage pump station near U.S. Highway 78 in Snellville was also rendered inoperable for a brief period by flood waters. One vehicle was destroyed and another suffered major damage from the flood waters. A female resident of Dacula had to be rescued from a 2000 Silverado pickup truck when the truck was submerged in flood waters on Brooks Road off Bramlett Shoals Road. Shortly after the rescue, the vehicle was swept away by the flood waters. A 1999 BMW was also damaged when flood waters rose above the tires and water damaged the interior of the car.

Fox 5 News of Atlanta reported that extensive flooding was occurring along Northridge Crossing Drive in the area between Sandy Springs and Dunwoody near the De Kalb county border. Several town homes had to be evacuated as water rose up to the level of mailboxes. A number of roads in the north and central portion of the county were flooded with water flowing across the roads. Flooding on Roswell Road resulted in a large sinkhole at one point in the road and washed out a portion of the road in a another location. Peachtree Creek quickly rose to flood stage of 17 feet in a 3 hour period, resulting in the usual flooding of roads, homes, businesses, and other property near the creek.

The Douglas county Emergency Management Director reported that extensive flooding occurred across the northern portions of the county, especially in the Lithia Springs, Douglasville, and Winston areas. Several homes were flooded and at least eight roads sustained damage, including some with washed out bridges and culverts. The Douglas County Sentinel reported that the Prestley Mill and Slater Mill Road bridges suffered the most damage. Extensive dirt and debris had to be removed from the roadways after the water receded before they could even be used. In addition, the guard rails on the bridge were bent from the force of the rushing water. An off duty National Weather Service employee reported that nearly five inches of rain fell across northern Douglas county between midnight and 5 am EDT.

The Gwinnett county SkyWarn reported that a home in Dacula was struck by lightning. The fire department investigated, but no fire was reported. Damage was confined to electronic equipment. Lightning also was responsible for a sewage leak at a pump station near Snellville as the pump station was briefly rendered inoperable by the lightning strike.

The Fayette county 911 center and Emergency Management Director reported that extensive flooding of roads and homes was occurring just west and just north of downtown Fayetteville. At Georgia Highway 85 and Georgia Highway 314, just north of Fayetteville, the road had two feet of water over it. Just west of Fayetteville off Georgia Highway 54 near Gingercake Creek, water rose several feet up on homes causing extensive damage to a number of homes. One home had a portion of a lower wall cave in from the weight and rush of the flood waters. The dam on Pye Lake, also just west of Fayetteville, was also breached from the flood waters. Consequently, several homes in the LaFayette Gardens Home subdivision were flooded and several residents in the Cornwallis and Wetherly Drive area of this subdivision had to be evacuated. At least five vehicles were damaged or destroyed by the flood waters as driveways collapsed and the vehicles fell into or were submerged by the flood waters. Several roads in downtown Fayetteville and nearby adjacent areas, especially to the west and north, sustained significant damage, Portions of the roads were washed out and extensive repairs were required.

The Clayton county 911 center reported that flash flooding had occurred in the Briargate Subdivision as a result of Briar Creek flooding the local area. Up to eight homes had to be evacuated on Winding Way in the subdivision.

The Walker county 911 center reported that heavy rain and thunderstorms were resulting in minor flooding across the north portion of the county, north and northwest of Chickamauga.

The Catoosa county 911 center reported that heavy rain and thunderstorms were resulting in minor street flooding in low lying and poor drainage areas throughout the county.

The Coweta county 911 center reported that there was considerable flooding of roads and bridges across the western and northern portions of the county. Water was flowing over the bridges on Boy Scout Road, Georgia Highway 34, and Robert's Road at Caney Creek. Georgia Highway 34 and Robert's Road were both closed as a result. In the northern portion of the county, Roscoe Road was flooded and closed at Wahoo Creek. One vehicle was swept by flood waters into Yellow Jacket Creek. Rainfall totals in excess of 10 inches were reported from areas north and west of Newnan between Newnan and Roscoe.

The Troup county 911 center reported that extensive flooding was occurring in the city. At least 15 roads were flooded and 30 homes had to be evacuated because of flood waters. Water got into a number of homes in the city. Parts of the county reported over 4 inches of rain during the day.

The Douglas county 911 center reported that heavy rain and thunderstorms renewed flooding problems across the county. A number of roads were flooded and closed. A dam failed and washed out a bridge in Chapel Hill, just south of Douglasville. Many of these same roads had been affected by flooding less than 24 hours prior. Twenty-four to 36 hour rainfall totals for much of Douglas county were near 10 inches.

The Heard county 911 center reported that there were several areas around the county of minor street flooding from persistent heavy rain.

The Troup county 911 center reported a number of roads in the La Grange area were flooded as heavy rain and thunderstorms once again moved over the area. While flooding was the worst in La Grange, some flooding was also reported in other parts of the county as well.

The Carroll county Emergency Management Director reported that an earthen dam on Lake Dakota near Whitesburg collapsed causing the flooding and closure of Ramsdell Road. Heavy rain flooded a number of roads and bridges across the county and forced the closing of 20 roads around the county. Some of the roads would require a week or more to repair. The Carroll Star News reported that Molette Street in Carrollton was completely washed out. A home in Carrollton was also flooded.

The Daily Citizen Newspaper of Dalton and the Chatsworth Times, reported that Murray county suffered extensive flooding from excessive rain. Particularly hard hit was Chatsworth, where flash floods swamped downtown neighborhoods and businesses with water. Dozens of roads were flooded and several, especially in downtown Chatsworth, were closed. Tibbs Bridge Road, leading west to Whitfield county, was over a foot under water. In some downtown areas, the water was 4-feet deep. Several businesses were literally washed out. At one store, flood waters washed nearly half of the store's merchandise into the parking lot. The Murray Plaza Shopping Center was also flooded and the Spring Lakes Golf Course was flooded when an adjacent stream quickly rose out of its banks. Much of the area surrounding the stream was also submerged in water when the creek overflowed its banks. At least two homes were evacuated because of flood waters and one home on Cohutta Street was flooded for the fourth time in less than a year! The 4-feet deep flood waters on Cohutta Street also prevented county firefighters from reaching a heart attack patient in a timely fashion.

The Chattooga county 911 center reported that a number of roads across the county were flooded, several of which had to be closed. Some businesses in downtown Summerville also sustained damage from flood waters.

The Floyd county 911 center reported that a number of roads were flooded across the northern portion of the county.

The Gordon county 911 center reported that several roads were flooded and closed. Several creeks around the county were also flowing out of their banks.