Flood watches and warnings cover much of the South, including Georgia, as torrential rains flood roads and highways and fill rivers and streams close to their banks.
The National Weather Service said early Friday that most of the flooding advisories covered parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee and Georgia.
Forecasters said some of the worst conditions were in Mississippi, where road closures were expected.
In Canton, Mississippi, at least 10 people were rescued from their homes before dawn in a neighborhood where heavy rains fell Thursday night, authorities said. Firefighters used a boat to reach people, WAPT-TV reported.
The National Weather Service said a dam failed near Raymond, Mississippi, flooding some cars. No serious injuries were reported.
In Georgia, three inches of rain had fallen by early Friday in the state's northwest corner, with more expected through the evening. In metro Atlanta, standing water on freeways snarled traffic as cars and trucks slowed down to creep along.
Rainfall in Gainesville measured better than two inches in places with more rain falling and more expected later today and tonight. Some strong storms are also possible, according to the NWS, with the primary threat being damaging winds and flash flooding. The strongest of the storms are expected in central and south Georgia, along and south of a line from Carrollton to Atlanta to Athens to Elberton.
(AccessWDUN's Ken Stanford contributed to this story.)
http://accesswdun.com/article/2020/1/864156/much-of-south-including-georgia-under-flood-threat-as-rain-drenches-region