Three days of steady rain has brought local creeks past flood stage and left much of the region under flood warnings. Areas of Tennessee, Georgia and North Alabama are all dealing with washed out roads and other effects of heavy rainfall.
Locally, the usual flooding along the Little Sequatchie River crested Monday covering Valley View Highway near Coppinger Cove late Monday and for part of the day on Tuesday.
The Sequatchie River also reached minor flood stages at 15.27 ft. late Monday. Much of the land around these two rivers in our county still show the signs of minor flooding. The land around Jasper’s Town Creek near Highway 28 is also at flood stage, but slowly declining.
Due to the flooding and some uncertainty of winter weather, many area schools delayed opening on Tuesday by as much as two hours for safety concerns. Marion County Schools were delayed by 90 minutes on Tuesday, while Richard Hardy opened at 9:30 a.m.
Public works crews across the region have been working steadily to block off flooded or hazardous roads as well as clearing debris from roadways.
Even so, local officials are urging everyone to exercise caution and common sense and avoid any water-covered roads as a general rule.
In Chattanooga, police officials noted that anyone who disregards barricades and then gets their vehicle stranded in flood water will be ticketed.
