Trees downed, some roads closed in White County but so far no injuries have been reported

CLEVELAND, Ga. White County Public Safety Director David Murphy reports that as of 8 a..m.  Wednesday White County had experienced several inches of rainfall over the last 24 hours. Rain gauges measure four plus inches in the county.  9-1-1 has received several calls concerning trees downed, roads blocked with debris and roads with heavy water runoff, especially in the county’s  higher elevations.

Moderate to heavy mudslides have been reported mainly on the mountain north of Helen towards Towns County.

“We expect some damage to vehicles and lower levels of buildings around the river in Helen,” Murphy said “After midnight, the river flooded out of its banks into parked vehicles and rental units alongside of river.  No injuries have been reported as a result of the flooding.  One privately owned pond was overflowing across the dam, with spillway fully operational. No visual structural damage and no significant downstream threat.”

County roads with damage and/or closed are Roy Powers off Duncan Bridge. Sandy Flats at Silver Falls Road is closed due to washout damage. Bean Creek Road has one lane closed due to washout and culvert damage.

Murphy said he will continue damage assessments especially to infrastructure, and those reported to us by the public.

Public Works will be evaluating in detail those county roads with closure and damage.

More rain is forecast for the area, some could be heavy at times.  “We will continue to update as information becomes available,” Murphy said.

Murphy also cautioned motorists if a road is coned off or barricaded, do not cross or go around.