Floodwaters rise, trees come down as rain keeps falling in CSRA
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - With the ground saturated after a week of rain – including a heavy storm overnight – flooding reports poured in across the CSRA on Friday.
Augusta officials said the rain maxed out the storm drainage system, causing what they called “localized flooding.”
Many of the reports came from south Augusta, where flooding is a problem year after year.
HOW TO GET HELP:
- Call the August-Richmond County Emergency Management Agency for help at 706-821-1156 or 311 for city services like removing trees and debris in roadways.
- The Red Cross is assessing damage and is ready to offer help, if needed. If you need help, call 800-733-2767 anytime.
On Yates Drive, multiple houses flooded, causing neighbors to evacuate to hotels.
One neighbor was able to show how high the water got on his truck.
“Debris everywhere ... that’s just how high this water came up. Look at my truck. Right there,” Eddie Kemp said as he pointed above the tires of his red pickup.
That’s a level that allowed water to get inside houses.
“I just was chillin’. All I know is that it was pouring down rain and I start to see water spraying from one end of the wall to the other,” said Daryl Kyler, who also lives on Yates Drive.
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The flooding caused the neighborhood to react.
“I ain’t never seen anything like this in my entire life. It’s new to me. As soon as I saw it rising, I’m like, ‘It’s time to get out of here,’” Kyler said.
Kemp pointed to his shins to show how high water got inside his house.
The flooding left neighbors tired, staying in a hotel and not knowing when they’ll be able to come home.
“If you look at it, you worked out your life to achieve something to be comfortable for the rest of your life,” Kemp said. “Once you done put the work in, you ought to be able to be comfortable in your house.”
Problems across the region
- Flooding was also reported in the Miles Park neighborhood south of Bobby Jones Expressway and east of Peach Orchard Road.
- A retention pond overflowed near Spirit Creek Road, according to neighbors there.
- Video showed Travis Road, south of Tobacco Road and east of Windsor Spring Road, filled with swirling water as the rain came down.
- Near the Blackberry Creek Mini Farm off just west of Mike Padgett Highway near McBean, clogged drainage pipes in ditches flooded out a roadway, making it impossible to navigate without a four-wheel drive, the farm’s owners said.
- A tree fell on a house on Redd Drive in Augusta, as often happens when rain turns firm soil into mud and takes a toll on trunks that may already be weak.
- In the Woodlake neighborhood, a sinkhole opened up in a yard where a water pipe caved in years ago. This has been an ongoing problem for Vondrea Armstrong and her family.
- Augusta crews were making repairs Friday at 1940 Kings Grant Drive, where a culvert overtopped and washed out the roadside.
- U.S. 1 had to be closed for a time in Leesville, S.C., for crews to clean up the mud-covered roadway after overnight flooding.
- And in Aiken County, Ascauga Lake Road was closed to Ridge Road for a time on Friday morning, but the water eventually receded.
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