Atlanta, GA
Some Atlanta residents resort to boats as Helene leaves streets submerge
Boats being used in some neighborhoods after Helene
Helene brought record rainfall to metro Atlanta, causing widespread flooding and leading some to use boats to get around.
ATLANTA – Metro Atlanta is drying out after Helene barreled through the area. The storm toppled trees, tore down power lines and submerged streets. Some roads were so inundated that people in some neighborhoods actually took to boats to get around.
Woodland Brook Drive was swamped. The only way people could get down the road was by boat. So a good Samaritan took out his motorboat to give his neighbors rides to their homes.
Angela Wells and her son set out on their neighbor’s boat for a ride across troubled waters. “There’s no way to get there by street,” Wells said.
Rain submerged her street in the Brandy Station subdivision of Vinings. “It is totally flooded,” Wells said. “Our whole front yard is flooded, and we have standing water in our basement.”
Some Georgians were getting around by boat after Helene tore through the state on Sept. 27, 2024 (FOX 5)
Woodland Brook Drive looked more like the Everglades than a residential road.
There’s no way Price Connor and her little dog Pippi could navigate their washed-out street. “No, I sure can’t,” Connor said. “It would be over our heads. And Pippi’s little, so she couldn’t take the water. I’m afraid there are snakes in there too.”
So, Andrew Link revved up his motorboat and ferried flooded-out friends to their houses. “Just to help them get to their homes faster,” Link said.
Some Georgians were getting around by boat after Helene tore through the state on Sept. 27, 2024 (FOX 5)
Torrential rain flooded Brandy Station, which sits right beside the Chattahoochee River. “Eight to 12 inches of rain in Atlanta, next to the river, you’re going to see some flooding,” link said. “It’s 12-and-a-half feet deep out there.”
Link says he is just being a good neighbor. “Why not? It’s good karma,” he said.