Helene brings flooding to Columbia County neighborhood

COLUMBIA COUNTY, Ga. (WJBF) – Helene making its impact on Columbia County. Yards along William Few Parkway beside Windmill Parkway are flooding for the second time this year.

By 9 a.m. Thursday morning, that flooding covered most of the driveways of the homes. It had receded by noon, but the constant rainfall has brought it back up again.

“Majority of the homes down here on William Few, it’s gonna be knocking on their doors.”

Homeowners like Dexter Carter experienced similar flooding a few months ago. A lot of the homes are low-lying and have a drainage system running underneath them that he says overflows when it rains hard.

Carter says the flooding he sees at his house isn’t as bad as his neighbors, but it’s already broken the fence in his backyard.

“The water itself, the flow, burst through my fence,” said Carter. “Because you hear the roar of the creek here. And that flow back there, I mean it’s pretty fast. How heavy the flow of rain is, with the creek here, it’s concerning.”

Columbia County EMA leaders tell us stormwater crews are making rounds throughout the county.

“We know that there areas throughout the county that flood more often than others, those are the ones that stormwater have gone out to and try to mitigate the problems, cleaning out culverts, you know digging out storm drains for the potential flooding,” said Shawn Granato, Columbia County EMA Director.

Granato says other county agencies are prepped and ready, but it’s important for you to be ready, too.

“You have to make sure that all your loose items outside are either brought in or tied down, don’t leave your animals outside, make sure that you have an extra power supply, make sure your phones are charged.”

Carter’s plan for the rest of the night is nailed down.

“I’m hunkering down.”

Columbia County schools are closed Friday. EMA leaders are preparing for the worst of the impacts this evening. Patriots Park will be open throughout the night for anyone needing to get out of the storm. Bring what you need and try to get there as early as you can.

Sign up for the county’s Hyper-Reach emergency alerts if you haven’t yet

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJBF.