6 Dead in Flood-Battered South; More Heavy Rain May Be Coming
Flooding continued Monday across the South, with at least six deaths blamed on high water, and about 7,000 residents of east-central Illinois at Champaign remained without electricity after snow and ice storms knocked out power lines last week.
The National Weather Service said that a new round of storms, possibly producing heavy rainfall, could reach the South by Wednesday, with a threat of more flooding.
Hundreds of people have been evacuated from their homes in Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and North Carolina.
The floods since late last week have been blamed for six deaths in Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama and North Carolina. One man was reported missing Monday in Georgia.
In Copperhill, Tenn., raw sewage from a storm-damaged waste treatment plant bubbled in the streets of the flood-ravaged old mining town of 418 people on Monday, forcing families to boil their drinking water. The mayor imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew for the third day to prevent looting.
The rain-swollen Ocoee River rampaged from its banks Friday and inundated Copperhill’s business district with 8 feet of turbulent waters. The flood swamped 34 homes and 50 businesses, 90% of Copperhill’s business district, and water rose to the second-story levels of some buildings.
Monday, business owners mopped mud from their stores, and some said they had yet to decide whether to open again.
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