Flash floods cause roads to collapse in Upson County

THOMASTON, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - Unusually heavy rainfall in the past two days is causing major problems for people who live in Upson County, roughly 75 miles south of Atlanta.

“My analogy is it was enough [rainfall] to float Noah’s Arc,” said Martha Anne McCarty, director of the Upson County Emergency Management. “We’ve lost a tremendous amount of roads. As of this morning, there are six that are closed due to culvert failures.”

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Many other roads are closed because of standing water, she said, adding that county workers have put up so many barricades, they’ve run out of them and are having to ask the Georgia Department of Transportation to send them more.

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“I’ve never seen it rain like this before,” said Ricky Elliott, who lives in the nearby community of Woodbury.

Perhaps the scariest part of Monday morning’s storms came at about 7:20 a.m. when meteorologists issued a tornado warning.

“I was watching the news, but my TV kept going off and on,” said Elliott.

He and others who live in and around Upson County were relieved when the tornado expired without any immediate reports of damage.

“I’m glad the tornado didn’t come through,” he said. “I can stand some rain, but not a tornado.”

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