Toccoa River spread 300 yards beyond banks in McCaysville

Mountain runoff swamped the Toccoa River valley last night.

Rain did not fall directly on downtown McCaysville, Georgia. Instead, heavy storms saturated the high ridges around the town late Wednesday and early Thursday. The water drained off the steep slopes quickly. It rushed into creeks and streams that funnel toward the lower elevations. This concentrated flow pushed the river level up faster than it could move downstream.

FOX 5 Meteorologist Alex Forbes stated that the Toccoa River spread several hundred yards beyond its natural banks. The surge overtopped a local bridge. It submerged an intersection located about a football field away from the bridge. The current was strong enough to dislodge mature trees and carry them downriver. Debris and logs, some measuring 3.5 to 4 feet in diameter, piled up against bridge supports in McCaysville.

McCaysville sits in Fannin County, roughly 100 miles north of Atlanta. It shares a downtown area with Copperhill, Tennessee, which is across the state line. Residents can walk from one municipality to the other in a few steps. The Toccoa River flows through McCaysville before becoming the Ocoee River in Tennessee.

Engineers have not yet finished safety assessments for the bridges. They are checking whether the pile of debris caused structural damage. Local leaders have not outlined long-term flood mitigation projects for the mountain basin.

The geographic layout of the two towns contributed to the speed and severity of the flooding. The narrow river valley is flanked by steep terrain. Homes, roads, and commercial districts are built at the lower elevations where the water funnels.

Forbes provided the geographic analysis and on-scene river estimates for this report. He noted that much of the rain responsible for the surge fell on the surrounding peaks rather than the town itself.