ATLANTA — Heavy rains drenched northwest Georgia Saturday and then moved into metro Atlanta, dumping several inches and causing flooding in some areas, but forecasters said the end of the rain was in sight.
The northwest corner of the state was heaviest hit, receiving 4 to 7 inches of rain. Coahulla Creek, near Dalton in Whitfield County, overflowed its banks, and flooding was also expected near Tilton and Eton, said hydrologist Kent Franz of the National Weather Service's Peachtree City office, which covers north Georgia.
Rain was falling Saturday afternoon across metro Atlanta as residents and volunteers worked to clean up from destructive floods that submerged homes and roads after torrential rains earlier in the week.
The rain was expected to continue into the night, and was expected to dump a total of about 1 to 3 inches on the metro area, which could be enough to cause minor flooding, Frantz said
"It's because everything is so saturated that just 2 inches of rain can cause flooding," he said. "What we've been hearing from the public also is that there's so much debris that normal drainage is getting blocked up quickly."
The weather service issued a flash flood warning Saturday afternoon for DeKalb, Forsyth, Fulton and Gwinnett counties because of locally heavy rains.
A fast-moving cold front moving across Alabama Saturday afternoon spawned rain and some small hail, said meteorologist Ken Lorek in the weather service's Calera, Ala. office. Flash floods were issued for parts of central Alabama, but rains weren't lingering long in any single location, so there was little danger of serious flooding, he said.
A much-needed respite from rain was expected Sunday, with forecasters calling for typical fall weather — sunny with highs in the upper 70s and no rain.
Georgia Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine on Saturday raised the estimated cost of damage caused by heavy flooding in parts of north Georgia to $500 million. The new figure was twice as much as Tuesday's initial damage estimate of $250 million.
"I think it could quite possibly go up," Oxendine said, adding that the estimate of half a billion dollars was conservative.
Oxendine said 20,000 homes and other structures suffered major damage, mainly in the area north and west of Atlanta.
A federal disaster declaration has been issued to provide individual assistance for recovery efforts to residents in 14 Georgia counties that were hardest hit. The declaration covers Carroll, Catoosa, Chattooga, Cherokee, Cobb, DeKalb, Douglas, Fulton, Gwinnett, Newton, Paulding, Rockdale, Stephens and Walker counties.
The Six Flags Over Georgia theme park just west of Atlanta saw some of its roller coasters partially submerged in brown, murky waters earlier in the week, but reopened Saturday with all major rides operating.
AP National News
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Rain continues to drench Georgia, but nearly over
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