It took a team effort to keep people safe in McCaysville in Fannin County during the heavy flooding that hit the area overnight.
More than a dozen people were rescued from the floods. Some of those rescued were vacationers who had no idea what was going on.
Channel 2’s Brittany Kleinpeter has been in McCaysville most of the day chronicling as the town picks up the pieces.
Emergency agencies from Tennessee and North Carolina responded in the wee hours of the morning to the developing disaster.
Rescue teams from Hiawassee Dam Fire Department in North Carolina, volunteers from Copper Basin Fire and Rescue, Inc., in Tennessee and the swift water team from Peachtree Fire & Rescue helped rescue people from the wall of water and mud that hit downtown McCaysville in the early morning hours.
The agencies joined the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, Fannin County Fire Rescue and the McCaysville Police Department in responding to the disaster.
Fannin County Swift Water team rescued six people before help from other agencies arrived arrived.
“Copper Basin Fire and Rescue began checking the Grassy Creek Road area of the Ocoee River, where they found several vacation rental homes filled with vacationers who were not subscribed to local notification services and had no clue what was occurring around them,” Hiawassee Dam Fire Department said in a statement on social media.
Authorities with Hiawassee Dam Fire Department said 19 people were rescued safely without injuries to rescuers or those being rescued. Thirteen of those were taken to shelter at Copper Basin Fire & Rescue Station 1.
Wolf Creek Fire Department also helped transport people and used their UTV to scout the area for more flooding.
Copper Basin Fire and Rescue said the 13 visitors hailed from Florida, middle Tennessee and Puerto Rico.
“These rescues were performed with mixed teams members from several departments, which demonstrates the standardization of training regardless of State lines,” Hiawassee Dam Fire Department said in a statement posted to social media.
McCaysville continues to recover from the flood. A State of Emergency was issued earlier. Cleanup continues in the area.
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