Washouts, floods and mud: Debby leaves damage across CSRA

SYLVANIA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - Parts of the CSRA are a wet, muddy mess after Tropical Storm Debby dumped double-digit rain totals on the area, with the heavy rainfall threatening a dam in Screven County.

People in the area of Savannah Highway and Eureka Road were advised to evacuate early Thursday due to the possible imminent failure of the dam at Meldrin Millpond, which Eureka Road traverses. The alert issued around 5:30 Thursday morning stated the failure has the potential for life-threatening flooding to occur and large amounts of fast-moving water.

It came after the storm hit eastern and southern counties especially hard.

Unlike Augusta, where the rain stopped Tuesday night, the skies were still emptying themselves over places like Screven County, where there were showers on and off all Wednesday ahead of possibly more rain Thursday.

It’s bad enough to keep schools in the county closed for the rest of the week in both Screven and Jenkins counties.

Screven County

Any dirt road in Screven County – and there are many – was a no-go on Wednesday.

Eureka Road – the one over the failing dam – was washed out over the dam at Meldrin Millpond near Savannah Highway.

It left about 15 people stranded on one side of the washout.

“This is a dead-end road,” said Codie Toole. “You got one way in, one way out.”

“Obviously, we didn’t know it was this much rain, but it was, it was a lot of rain,” Toole said. “Obviously, the road is – it ain’t much, ain’t much you could do with it.”

Heavy equipment was brought in to help after the Screven County Emergency Management Agency raised concerns the dam might fail.

Load after load of dirt was dumped and then spread to help fill in some of the gaps left by the washout.

Apparently, that didn’t help the dam, since the call to evacuate had to be made anyway.

Toole said it was great to see all the community , with county crews and others coming out to help.

“Oh, it’s awesome. That’s what this community is about, helping each other,” he said. “It’s most action we’ve had on this road in a while.”

Halcyondale Road remained flooded – as it had been on Tuesday – and 10 people had to be evacuated off of Rocky Ford Road, though no injuries were reported.

Quite a few paved roads were underwater, or the debris patterns showed they recently had been.

County officials wanted to close more roads Tuesday when the storm came in, but they couldn’t do that because they ran out of orange barrels and signs.

Some Screven County neighbors said their yards were under 16 inches to 2 feet of water.

“I don’t even have words to describe this,” the chief deputy said. “It is nothing but a huge mess. I can’t put words to what we are seeing.”

National Guard troops arrived Wednesday morning to offer help where they could. They were requested by county officials after being activated by Gov. Brian Kemp ahead of the storm. They were bringing heavy equipment to deal with debris and trees.

WHAT’S AHEAD?

• Debby has gone out to sea for now, but the slow-moving storm is expected to move back inland, bringing more rain Thursday to the already saturated region. South Carolina counties are at more risk than the Georgia side of the CSRA. A slight flood risk has been issued for many local counties, but that will all depend on Debby’s eventual track.

Although areas are underwater, crews are only taking out the boat if there are life-safety issues.

One woman had water up to her knees. She told us the rainwater level reached the level of the pond on her property.

Her family had multiple vehicles sitting in the water, and she feared they might be totaled.

She was trying to rescue her chickens Wednesday morning, but she wasn’t optimistic.

Another homeowner called the flooding a “devastating blow to farmers.”

On Tuesday night, Screven County emergency management officials were very concerned about the amount of rain that fell – a total they say they’ve never seen.

At Rocky Ford, which got the most recorded rain in the county, the Ogeechee River looked perilously high. One longtime resident said he’d only seen it that high one time before.

As of Wednesday morning, here were some of the rain totals in Screven County:

• Rocky Ford: 12.89 inches.
• Newington: 11.38 inches.
• Sylvania: 9.33 inches.
• Burtons Ferry: 8.96 inches.
• Sylvania Airport: 8.23 inches.
• Hiltonia: 4.99 inches.

Allendale County

Allendale County Emergency Management Agency officials told News 12 on Wednesday that Tuesday’s rain was they most they had seen – definitely more than the last few hurricanes.

Williams Road in Fairfax was washed out, and was blocked from end to end. Here’s a look at the water washing over it:

Also washed out was Stillwood Road.

Citadel Road was flooded just off Allendale-Fairfax Highway. At the corner, the owner of Showroom Discount Warehouse said it’s the only flooring place in town. The business couldn’t get deliveries in and out because of the flood and was having some septic tank issues.

There were surely more flooded roads, but officials were still riding routes to check around midday Wednesday.

Some areas were underwater, including some farmland along Confederate Highway.

At a home along Buford’s Bridge Highway, no one was there, but the yard and driveway were underwater.

There was flooding all around Fairfax Gardens Apartments at 772 Saluda Ave., which is home to many seniors. Fire crews tried to clear the water Tuesday, but they weren’t successful.

Many residents left Tuesday, and those who stayed did so by choice.

Burke County

In Sardis, Tom Bargeron Road was washed out near Highway 23. On Wednesday morning, the asphalt had been peeled away atop culverts that run underneath the roadway. Water swirled along the side of the road.

It’s a familiar problem to the area. The road was replaced about 10 years ago due to flooding and washouts from the creek that runs under it. Crews installed four large culverts to help move the water. But on Tuesday, that wasn’t enough.

Also in Sardis, Beaver Dam Road was closed Wednesday.

Just a few miles to the northeast, Perry Road was washed out off of Stoney Bluff Road. That’s east of Girard.

Flooding forced the Georgia Department of Transportation to close State Highway 24 north of Alexander-Munnerlyn Road in Burke County on Tuesday night. And Mill Pond Road near Murray Hill Road was closed due to flooding.

Also in Burke County, part of a tree broke and penetrated the roof of a home in Sardis off Zeigler Circle on Doris Lane. No injuries were reported.

Even though winds have been relatively low, it doesn’t take much to bring down a tree in soggy ground.

Falling trees have been deadly during the storm. A 19-year-old man in Moultrie died when a tree fell through a home Monday afternoon.

Jenkins County

Flooded rural roads were also a problem in Jenkins County, where rainfall totaled 5 to 6 inches, depending on location.

Jones Plantation Road was covered in 7 inches of water Tuesday evening. That was up from 5 inches in less than two hours.

Jenkins and Emanuel counties both had all hands on deck, with first responders of every kind on standby, from law enforcement to rescue crews.

WHAT ABOUT THE RIVERS?

• One thing we probably won’t have to worry about is flooding from the Savannah River. Although the river is expected to rise about 6 feet by Thursday night, it will still be below the lowest flood stage at that point. The Ogeechee River at Midville, however, could reach minor flood stage by Thursday night, when it will have risen by 5 to 6 feet.

Bamberg County

Bamberg County, which is still recovering from a Jan. 9 tornado, was mostly unscathed by Debby.

As of Friday morning, officials tell us the following roads were closed yesterday - however we are waiting to learn what roads remain closed. We went to the scene to learn more.

• Embree
• Hope
• Squirrel
• Needle
• Smoak

Some trees came down Tuesday night, but crews had already cleared them by the middle of Wednesday.

Bamberg County spokeswoman Alisha Moore said people are just hunkering down for the second round of Debby on Thursday.

County officials ask people to stay off the roads – and don’t go try to see the flooding if there is any.

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