When Helene marched north through Georgia on Thursday and Friday, it caused flash flooding and power outages across the state, including an already soaked Atlanta. The city reported 21 water rescues in one highly affected area, and about 100,000 households overall were without electricity on Friday, with flash flood emergency alerts for the region in effect. Mayor Andre Dickens declared a state of emergency.
In Buckhead and other northern Atlanta neighborhoods, a swollen Peachtree Creek, a 7.5-mile waterway that flows into the Chattahoochee River, helped fuel the flooding in some apartments and houses that forced some residents to flee, wading through the streets.
Murky-brown water rushed through the Peachtree Park Apartments subdivision in a low-lying pocket of Buckhead, pooling on the street and seeping into residences. The two-story apartment complex sits in one of the most affluent neighborhoods in Atlanta that once made national headlines for its effort to secede from the city. (It eventually did not.)
Marcus Benson, who lives in the neighborhood, drifted off to sleep on Thursday after putting his infant son to bed. Mr. Benson said he was lulled by “the beautiful sounds of the water and rain” tapping against his windows and roof. But a harsh rap at his front door jolted him awake; his neighbor had come to warn him that Peachtree Creek was spilling over into their community — and fast.
By around 10 p.m., the flooding had risen to about chest level, Mr. Benson said, and the rain wasn’t letting up. So Mr. Benson, 40, hoisted his 3-month-old son above his head, and he and his wife began to ford the deluge.
He didn’t have time to consider the danger, even as the water crept up toward his chin.
“You don’t think about it,” he explained in an interview on Friday. “You’re so cold; you’re fueled by adrenaline.” Temporarily relocated to a neighbor’s apartment, Mr. Benson said he was just happy they were all safe and dry.
Jibri Tolen, a 32-year-old software engineer who lives in downtown Atlanta, headed to the Peachtree Park apartment complex with his own canoe early Friday morning after friends told him about the flooding. He figured somebody might need help getting back to their apartment to retrieve personal items.
Within a few hours, he had made the trip eight or 10 times, he said — rowing and at times, pushing his kayak through the parking lot turned lake where debris floated and cars were submerged.
“It just felt like the right thing to do,” Mr. Tolen said.
Travis Brown, 33, hitched a ride with Mr. Tolen to survey the damage in his apartment. The night before, Mr. Brown grabbed an air mattress and pushed his wife and two kittens through the water to safety. “I am not sure what I am going back to, but I want to save whatever I can,” he said.
By noon on Friday, the sun began peeking out from behind the clouds, and the waters receded slowly. The stench of dirty water still hung in the air as many renters wandered around the complex with soaked belongings.
Addison Whitney, a musician who lives at the apartments, said he had tried to scoop up his valuables the night before as the water climbed up his legs in the ground-floor unit he shared with a roommate.
Mr. Whitney said he and his roommate would be couch-surfing until they get clarity from their landlord on when — or whether — they’ll be able to return.
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