Flooding from severe storms impacts Downtown Atlanta

ATLANTA – Parts of downtown Atlanta were underwater Thursday afternoon as heavy rains from scattered thunderstorms caused flash flooding.

Along Baker Street in front of the Georgia Aquarium, Atlanta Police say a vehicle become disable because of the water.

Witnesses tell FOX 5 several vehicles parked in a lot at Northside Drive NW and MLK JR Drive SW were actually washed away in the flash flood and ended up in the parking lot near Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

The swift water rescue team was also seen downtown to help anyone stranded.

Visitors inside the building were evacuated and given a voucher for a future visit.

A scheduled event, Aqua Vino, which celebrates the research and conservation efforts of the aquarium was also canceled.

Officials at the attraction released a statement that reads:

“This is unrelated to the safety of our exhibits and is not affecting our animals. The water is completely weather related, and we have teams currently working on clean up. There were some severe thunderstorms in the area earlier and the water is rainwater. Guests who were in the building were given comp tickets to return at a later date. The Aquarium will be closing for the remainder of the day and any guests who had tickets for this evening can reach out to our Call Center to reschedule their visit.”

The aquarium is expected to reopen Friday morning

The storm threat is expected to diminish close to 9 p.m. Thursday.

The trend of afternoon and early evening showers and thunderstorms will continue the next few days, but widespread severe storms are not expected.

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