Parts of four major interstates in Atlanta were closed by flooding Tuesday morning, and emergency officials warned people not to drive unless it was absolutely necessary.
Traffic is forced to exit I-285 in Cobb County, Georgia, early Tuesday.
Traffic is forced to exit I-285 in Cobb County, Georgia, early Tuesday.
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The flooding, caused by days of heavy rains, killed at least six people Monday.
Widely scattered showers were forecast for early Tuesday, with rain falling on saturated ground.
Georgia's governor declared a state of emergency Monday in the 17 counties hardest hit by flooding. Video Watch interstate under water »
Gov. Sonny Perdue's announcement followed three deaths in north Georgia's Douglas County; one death in Gwinnett County; and another in Carroll County, where a 2-year-old child was ripped from his father's arms by fierce floodwaters while the father struggled to hold on to bushes, officials said. CNN affiliate WSB-TV later confirmed a fourth death in Douglas County.
Those counties, near Atlanta, were among the 17 included in the state-of-emergency declaration.
About 100 miles north of Atlanta, in Chattanooga, Tennessee, one person was swept into rushing water and was presumed drowned, said Jeremy Heidt, a spokesman for the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency in Nashville.
Early Tuesday, the National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning for counties along the Interstate 20 corridor east of the Atlanta area almost to the South Carolina line. Additionally, several counties south of Macon, in central Georgia, were under a flash flood warning.read more
