Fred brings flooding, other damage to White County

Tropical Storm Fred brought flooding to many areas in White County on Tuesday, Aug. 17.

White County officials, the city of Cleveland, and city of Helen, were busy most of Tuesday with storm-related issues. White County Emergency Operations Directory David Murphy said there were multiple calls for downed trees, power outages and flooding. All departments, including fire, law enforcement, public works, animal control and emergency management units responded to calls and assisted in clearing roads, and assessing damage and flooding issues.

“Our teams worked together to manage the incident and respond to the service needs of our constituents,” Murphy said, adding that he is thankful for the dedication of the personnel and volunteers. “They worked together like a well oiled machine from the 911 Center operators to the responders in the field.”

Flooding and damage happened in areas throughout the county, with Helen seeing water from the Chattahoochee River overflowing into nearby streets. Brucken Strasse and Edelweiss Strasse had to be closed due to flooding, along with the bridge on Edelweiss Strasse near the Festhalle.

Helen Fire Chief Jody Prickett said, as of Tuesday afternoon, there were no reports of flood damage to residential buildings along the river banks

“We do have road damage on the bridge up there. It’s going to have to be evaluated,” Prickett said. “I did get a report of some LP (liquid propane) tanks floating and the gas company has been notified about that.”

The Chattahoochee River flooded in multiple spots, including up to the patio of the Troll Tavern in Helen and the steps next to it. According to David Murphy as of Tuesday, flooding was reported at the following locations: 896 Campbell St., Thomas Road / Ga. 115 West, 286 S. Main St. (area of Glenda’s), Quillian Street, Cooley Woods / Mountain Meadows, Ricky West Road / Mossy Acres, Mauldin Road / Asbestos Road, Bean Creek at Gold Valley Road, 327 Asbestos Road, Riverside Park – Helen, Edelweiss Strasse at Brucken Strasse (bridge and roadway), and the 500 block of Chastain Road.

During the day, White County never went under a tornado warning, but with warnings issued in Banks and Habersham counties, Mt. Yonah Elementary School was requested to go under emergency operations as a precaution, Murphy said.

“The storm had changed to a northwest movement on radar and the operations center felt it necessary to proactively move kids to safety for a period of time,” he said.

The following locations had confirmed trees down as of Tuesday: Virgil Hunt / Tesnatee Gap Valley Road, Asbury Mill Road / U.S. 129 North, 6363 Ga. 75 Alternate, Town Creek / Dozer Road, Robinson Road / Paradise Valley Road, 3085 Ga. 255 North, 1699 Richard Russell Scenic Highway, Ga. 356 / Skylake, 1778 Joe Black Road, Ga. 75 Alternate / Scorpion Hollow, 747 Duncan Bridge Road, Ga. 356 / North Main Street, Helen Highway / Windy Acres and multiple trees down along Ga. 356, Murphy said.

Power outages were also reported throughout the county, with Habersham EMC reporting 127 meters out and Georgia Power reporting 1,287 customers without power, Murphy said at the time of the report. He added that most were either in or around the Helen area. Power lines were down at the following locations: 3066 New Bridge Road, 182 Post Road (with tree), Kellum Valley / Post Road (with tree), and 235 Yonah Valley Road.

There was also one motor vehicle accident with entrapment at 5852 Ga. 254, Murphy said. He added that Ga. 356 at Ga. 75 had been closed due to trees taking an extended time to get cleared.