Storms in Rabun County Not as Damaging as Predicted

Over the weekend, Hurricane Joaquin hit the east coast, and sent a low-pressure system to the Carolina’s, as well as North Georgia. South Carolina was hit the hardest by the system, with flooding reaching 13 inches in some areas. Some North Georgia counties, including Habersham and White, saw significant power outages and downed trees. So much so, that schools in those counties were closed for the day.

As for Rabun County, Emergency Management Director Michael Mazarky says that the reports could have been worse.

“We got really lucky with it. We didn’t get near the damage as surrounding counties got.” Mazarky says, “We got a significant amount of rain, and winds that gusted up to 25 miles per hour.”

While the damages weren’t as severe as predicted, Mazarky tells us a few departments responded to a few calls concerning the elements.

“From what I understand, we had probably 30-plus trees down, and minor flooding in some of the low-lying areas. (There was) Nothing major that shut the county down for too long.”

The Rabun County EMA worked hard to keep the residents safe, but, according to Mazarky, there were more arms in the effort.

“The Road Department did an excellent job of clearing out, and getting the roads back open.” Mazarky said, “I was very impressed on how well all of the departments worked well together. Severe weather comes, everybody in the county seems to band together and work for a common cause, and that’s to keep the citizens safe.”

According to the National Weather Service in Greenville/Spartanburg, Rabun County’s average rainfall total for the weekend was around 4 inches, with the highest total coming at 4.7 inches.