Incredible amounts of rainfall over a short period of time caused severe flooding in the city of Statesboro, including areas where apartments were underwater.
Roads and other low-lying areas, including places that usually do not flood even during torrential rainfall, were underwater in places throughout the county as well, according to reports.
Many people were temporarily unable to get home Monday afternoon as dozens of roads were closed or underwater, according to a Bulloch County Public Safety spokesperson.
The National Weather Service reported the Statesboro area received around 4 inches of rainfall within two hours, between 5 and 7 p.m.
Bulloch County 911 received several calls regarding people stranded in flooding apartments in both the city and county areas. Power lines were down, including some inside the Statesboro city limits as well as on U.S. Highway 301 North at Clito and Westside Road, and the deluge caused some traffic accidents as well, according to reports.
Statesboro police officers, Bulloch County sheriff's deputies, Bulloch County Public Safety workers and others scrambled to respond as streets and roads flooded. Ponds and creeks swept over their banks ,and some reported roads washed away and "holes in the road."
Bulloch County Public Safety reported numerous roads either closed or underwater as of 7 p.m., including the following: Cypress Lake, Clito, Williams, Pulaski, Country Club, Westside, Colfax, Bobby Mikell, Buck Creek and Lester roads. Around 20 roads were seriously affected, and possibly more, as reports filed in.
Statesboro Advanced Patrol Officer Justin Samples said West Jones Avenue, Johnson Street, Denmark Street, South Main Street, Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, Northlake Subdivision, Zetterower Road, Cromartie Drive and other areas were underwater and closed. Radio traffic on police scanners aired reports of a home on Hodges Circle in which 6 feet of water stranded a family. Rescue workers called for a boat to rescue the family, which included children.
According to Hayley G. Greene, the spokeswoman for the Bulloch County Board of Education, schools will be open today.
In an official statement released, Greene stated: "In any and all cases of severe weather, the superintendent of Bulloch County Schools confers with the Bulloch County Emergency Management Agency as to the safety of road conditions and the safety of our campuses. This allows our superintendent and administrators to plan accordingly for student and staff safety.
"Bulloch County Schools is in contact with Bulloch County EMA Director Ted Wynn this evening, and we will maintain that contact throughout the current weather conditions. Based on the information we have received, from EMA, Bulloch County Schools will be open" today, she said.
"As with any daily travel, especially when it is raining, we ask all students and parents to drive safely. There may be isolated areas where roads in the county are impassable. Should this occur, buses will be advised by EMA and Bulloch County Schools not to travel in these areas. Parents in these areas are encouraged to obey all road closure signs. On roads that are not closed, but where conditions appear hazardous, parents are also encouraged to use their best judgment as to whether they may safely transport their children to school."
Bulloch County Public Safety and law enforcement worked throughout the night responding to reports of traffic accidents, roads flooding, people trapped by floodwaters and other issues related to the storm.
Holli Deal Bragg may be reached at (912) 489-9414.