Nancy Creek and Peachtree Creek, meandering tributaries of the Chattahoochee River, have vexed those who live along their banks for generations.
When it rains – it really rains – both streams tend to burst from the confines of their vermilion banks. So it was Friday that the remnants of Hurricane Helene – and two days of rain before it – invited not only Nancy and Peachtree Creeks, but also Chattahoochee, to flood homes, roads and even playgrounds from two private schools in the west. edge of Buckhead.
Credit: Ben Gray for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Credit: Ben Gray for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It was in this little slice of Buckhead that all of Hélène’s human drama took place.
Boat rescues from muddy waters – including that of two adults and their babies – became national news in the early morning hours.
The images went viral from Atlanta’s Westminster Schools, where overflowing Nancy Creek submerged the school’s football, softball and baseball fields under about four feet of murky water overnight. Only the tallest monuments remained visible – an American flag, an electronic scoreboard, a pair of opposing yellow goals.
Power crews along Paces Ferry, west of I-75, were grappling with the arduous task of restoring power along a road lined with toppled trees, victims of a ground saturated that their roots could no longer hold.
A few miles away, near Lovett School, teary-eyed residents appeared in the morning to assess the damage, where the muddy waters of the Chattahoochee River and its tributaries, fed by Helen, spilled over its banks and flooded neighboring homes and businesses several feet deep. of water. Lovett’s athletic fields were also submerged.
Spectators spoke of the audible din of the rushing and overflowing Chattahoochee. The cars were abandoned half underwater. Some residents, apparently stranded by the several meters of water surrounding their homes, looked out their windows to observe the scene outside.
Atlanta received an “unprecedented” 11.12 inches of precipitation in a 48-hour period between Wednesday and Friday, breaking the previous record of 9.59 inches set in 1886, said Bill Murphey, Georgia state climatologist.
Credit: Ben Gray for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Credit: Ben Gray for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Straddling the shoulder of Paces Ferry Road, a Georgia Power crew worked Friday to diagnose a power line downed by a tree overnight. It was their third call that morning. Even without strong winds, the rain brought by Helene and the cold front that preceded it significantly loosened the soil around tree roots throughout metro Atlanta, Georgia Power spokesman Matthew Kent said. .
“As the storm passed, the ground was already saturated, which caused a number of trees to fall and many power lines to come down with those trees,” Kent said.
Kent, along with Georgia Power, urged residents to be patient. As of Friday morning, many crews were still assessing the damage. He could not give a specific time when power would be restored to all residents, but said crews were working around the clock.
As of Friday evening, more than 600,000 Georgia Power customers were without power across the state. They were among more than a million utility customers across the state who were without power.
Stephen Spivey, Westminster’s head of school security, said he had only seen flooding like this once, years ago.
With the Westminster campus closed this weekend, Spivey said he doesn’t see why the football field couldn’t be ready by the time Westminster plays Kell High School on Oct. 11.
“You’d be surprised how quickly these waters recede,” Spivey said.
Although floodwaters will recede soon, for many homeowners and business owners near the creeks and river, recovery will take much longer.
—Staff writer Drew Kann contributed to this report.
