Storm batters Dahlonega

DAHLONEGA- A powerful thunderstorm battered downtown Dahlonega late Wednesday afternoon.

The streets were strewn with downed trees after the storm struck about 5:30. "When we looked outside, it was raining pea-sized hail, and visibility was literally less than five feet outside," resident Sam Harbinson tells Fox 5.

A number of trees outside Gold City Nursing Home were also toppled. Employee Chad Martin said, "The doors started shaking in the back of the building, and we grabbed ahold of the doors to keep them from blowing open and to keep the rain from coming in, and as we were blowing the doors open, it kept trying to pull me out the door; the suction was just unbelievable."

A main sewer line was broken after a tree fell on it, causing sewage to spill into a creek. City Manager Bill Lewis they have reported to it EPD. "We'll be required to post some signs and also do some long range testing of the creek to make sure that there's not any permanent damage done to the creek."

About 2,000 people in the Dahlonega area were left without power because of the storm.

It was the second straight night of storm damage in northeast Georgia. Hall and White counties bore the brunt of Tuesday night's storms.