CLARKESVILLE – Emergency personnel in Habersham County faced a challenge overnight Saturday when flooding undermined a mobile home on Rodeo Circle just outside Clarkesville, trapping several residents.
“The mobile home park was basically completely flooded,” said Habersham County Fire Chief Jeff Cain. “We had one singlewide that was at the entrance that had been turned basically almost over. If it hadn’t been for a pickup sitting there, it basically would have been turned over.”
The mobile home park, off Ga. 197 South beside St. Mark Catholic Church, has been the site of previous flooding, but officials said past incidents have not been as bad.
“We had three males on top of it that we were trying to get to, so we had to bring in the inflatable boat and they had to paddle out to them, offload them one at a time into the boat because we’ve got a small boat and had two firefighters in the boat,” Cain said.
Cain said this time flooding was much worse than in past incidents. Clarkesville Fire Department joined Habersham County Emergency Services personnel in the rescue.
“It’s the highest water I’ve ever seen on Rodeo Circle,” Cain said. “And I’ve seen it flood numerous times, but it’s probably one of the highest times.”
Cain said the water line on the mobile homes was at about five feet.
Other residents of the mobile home park realized the area was flooding and evacuated prior to the men becoming trapped near the entrance, Cain said.
“The water was running so hard under 197, we moved the fire trucks and all the equipment because you could feel the ground vibrating from the water and I was afraid the culvert was going to turn loose,” Cain said. “So we actually backed up and only sent what essential personnel down to it that we needed to.”
Cain said Habersham County did not experience injuries or deaths from the flooding but did have to rescue a number of residents who were trapped upstairs in the homes with the ground floor flooded.
“The county emergency services, I know we’ve rescued probably 14 or 15 total from houses that had water,” Cain said. “Fortunately, we haven’t had anyone hurt or haven’t lost any equipment.”
