Record Flood on the Georgia-Tennessee Line Damages a Baptist Church as the Toccoa River Crests at 18.05 Feet
The city of McCaysville, in Fannin County, Georgia, was hit by record flooding on November 5. The town sits across the state line from Copperhill, Tennessee, and the same river — called the Ocoee in Tennessee and the Toccoa after it crosses into Georgia — rose out of its banks after a night of heavy rain, flooding First Baptist Church of McCaysville and damaging numerous buildings in town.
Police said the Toccoa River crested at 18.05 feet at 6 a.m. on November 5, four feet above major flood stage, and began receding two hours later. The previous record was 17.8 feet, set on February 16, 1990. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has declared a disaster area for several counties, including Union, Fannin, Gilmer and Murray, and the city of McCaysville declared a state of emergency and closed the city, with floodwaters reaching the roofs of some buildings. No injuries or deaths have been reported.
First Baptist sits beside the river, with only a three-foot bank between its parking lot and the water. Wednesday night's services at the church had gone well with good attendance. "We left around 8," said Cole West, the church's youth and missions pastor. "Hours later, the building was full of water." Pastor David Drake, who lives 40 miles away in Ellijay and had not yet been able to reach the church, said the sanctuary will have to be redone, with damaged pews, carpet and everything else coming out — a scene much like the 1990 flood, when only the balcony pews survived.
First Baptist Church of Epworth has volunteered its building as a temporary location, and First Baptist McCaysville will gather there for worship at 2 p.m. this Sunday. West, who lives across from the church, said he received an alert on his phone at 2 a.m. and stepped outside to see street lights reflecting on water where cars normally parked; a mandatory evacuation order came around 4:30 a.m., and before he left he could see people in boats in the church parking lot.
(Source: Baptist Press)
Source: Baptist Press
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：流经佐治亚州范宁县的托科阿河（资料图）。Thomson200 摄，CC0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: The Toccoa River in Fannin County, Georgia (file photo). Photo by Thomson200, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.
