CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. — Emergency managers in Clayton County are keeping a close eye on a river that often floods when there’s heavy rain.
When that happens, ambulances need to find a different route to a Southern Regional hospital.
“We’re watching it constantly throughout the day,” said Phong Nguyen, Interim Director of Clayton County Emergency Management.
They’re watching the Flint River bridge on Upper Riverdale Road. They watch it in person and they watch it on video screens from their Emergency Operations Center.
They’re laser-focused on it.
“We know it’s gonna flood,” Nguyen said.
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Back in January, the river spilled over onto Upper Riverdale and caused massive flooding. It forced paramedics and people headed to Southern Regional Hospital to find a different route.
Now help is on the way. The county recently got a $24.6 million grant to try and resolve the issue.
“Working on the area right now. We’re doing studies. Engineer work to basically fix it,” Nguyen told Channel 2′s Tom Jones.
Meanwhile, the fun and excitement at the Georgia State Fair will have to wait a while because of the storm. It won’t open Friday at the Atlanta Motor Speedway as planned.
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“They’re going to delay opening until Saturday,” AMS GM Brandon Hutchison explained.
The storm is expected to bring fierce winds along with more rain. This brings worry about all the rides and equipment being damaged, but Hutchinson says state fair workers are more than prepared to deal with that.
“They’ve been watching the weather. They know the forecast. So just like you would do at your home they’ve battened down the hatches so to speak,” he said.
Hutchinson wants people to be safe and stay home until the weather blows over. Once it does, he wants people to come out and have a great time at the Georgia State Fair on Friday.
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