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| Photo Credit: AP. |
SUMMERVILLE, Ga. (AP) — Flood watches were in effect in the U.S. southeast and much of the northeast on Monday as forecasters warned of the possibility of torrential downpours on Labor Day across already saturated ground.
Among the
hardest-hit areas in this weekend’s storms was northwest Georgia, where 12
inches (30 centimeters) of rain fell in some spots, forecasters said.
The flooding
knocked out water service to parts of Georgia’s Chattooga County, where the
school system called off classes for the next couple of days, authorities said.
“Our main
thrust right now is getting our water situation back in hand,” said Earle
Rainwater, who owns Rainwater Funeral Home in Summerville and serves as the
Chattooga County coroner.
“Without
water, you can’t do anything,” he said Monday. “We don’t have water except for
bottled water and what’s in the creeks.”
Georgia Gov.
Brian Kemp on Sunday declared a state of emergency in Chattooga and Floyd
counties. That directed all state resources to help with “preparation, response
and recovery activities.”
In Chattooga
County, several people had to be rescued from their homes on Sunday, especially
in lower-lying areas of the county, Rainwater said. “They used Jon Boats, they
used kayaks, they used anything that would float.”
Waves of
showers and storms were expected to develop Monday in the region, as moisture
from the Gulf of Mexico continues to stream across the South and into the
Northeast, the National Weather Service said. Some training storms — storms
that drop several inches of rain as they move over the same areas like train
cars — were also possible, the weather service said.
The chance
for flash flooding extended into the northeast, into Pennsylvania, parts of
southern New England and the New York City area, the weather service said.
Radar showed a strong band of storms traveling northeast just inland from
Pennsylvania through Rhode Island and into Massachusetts.
Life
threatening flash flooding was reported Monday in the Rhode Island cities of
Providence and Cranston, the National Weather Service reported. While there had
been no reports of injuries in the area, a number of roads were closed by
Monday afternoon, including a section of Interstate 95, and Route 10 — one of
the main arteries into and out of Providence.
Up to four inches (10 centimeters) of rain had already fallen in some areas by late afternoon and additional flooding was possible. The heavy rainfall left motorists stranded on Interstate 95 for hours and was responsible for the collapse of at least one building, according to local news reports.
In
Connecticut, up to six inches (15 centimeters) of rain had fallen by early
evening Monday with north New London County seeing upwards of five inches
within an hour. Local forecasters said additional flooding is possible through
Tuesday evening.
Parts of
Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Kentucky, Virginia
and West Virginia were under flash flood watches through Monday evening. Rhode
Island, Connecticut and parts of Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine remain
under flash flood watches into Tuesday.
In Georgia,
church pastors and volunteers planned to distribute water on Monday in the
small towns of Summerville and Trion, according to the Chattooga County
Emergency Management Agency.
“We’ve never
had anything like this before,” Summerville Mayor Harry Harvey said.
After
visiting the community’s flooded water treatment plant Monday morning, Harvey said,
“Things are not as bad as we thought they were, or as bad as they could be.”
Workers were
at the site Monday assessing the damage. By late Monday or early Tuesday, “we
should have a much better assessment as to what needs to be done,” Harvey said.
The
Chattooga County School System will be closed Tuesday and Wednesday due to the
flooding, Superintendent Jared Hosmer said.
“Without
water, we are unable to flush toilets, wash hands, drink from the fountains, or
prepare lunches,” Hosmer said Monday in announcing the decision.
Chattooga
County, about 90 miles (145 kilometers) northwest of Atlanta, is home to about
25,000 people.
Associated
Press writer Jeff Martin contributed from Woodstock, Georgia.