On Wednesday afternoon, Cleveland experienced déjà vu as parts of South Main Street were submerged once more due to heavy rainfall.
The flooding wasn’t as bad as it was on August 15, when a tree fell on Little Caesars Pizza and more than three and a half inches of rain fell in a short amount of time. Nevertheless, the storm on Wednesday was powerful enough to flood low-lying areas and produce sporadic power outages. Over the course of thirty minutes, little over an inch of rain fell.
Lingering problem
The same approximate area had catastrophic flooding on Friday due to an extraordinary rain event that occurred days before.
According to Cleveland’s Director of Economic Development Tom O. Bryant, the flooding was most likely brought on by the storm drainage system’s incapacity to handle the heavy amount of rain that fell in such a short period of time.
According to O Bryant, ponding happened in a number of locations throughout the town on Friday, but after the rain ceased, most of them emptied. Cleveland Veterinary Hospital, Cooperative Purchasing, Foothills Car Wash, and Little Caesars are all located along U.S. 129 South, which had the heaviest flooding.
According to him, the subterranean pipe there is thought to have eroded out and collapsed, allowing the water to back up and flood the businesses.
Extent of damages unknown
The entire extent of the damage is still uncertain, particularly in light of the subsequent water. O Bryant claims that while Cleveland Veterinary Hospital is located inside the city borders, White County is in charge of the other impacted establishments. Furthermore, the troublesome drainage pipe is located within the right-of-way owned by the Georgia Department of Transportation.
According to O Bryant, the state and the county will decide what remedial measures are required to alleviate the floods and maintain the drainage system over the long term. In order to address the issues and stop more flooding, those companies will collaborate with the state and county.
The area saw additional intense rain on Thursday, and Friday, August 22, is predicted to bring more. Early next week is predicted to see a change in the weather, with lower humidity and cooler temperatures.
