Winter Storm Elliott may not have dumped the heavy snow and ice on Northeast Georgia that it dumped on other parts of the country, but the deadly storm still stirred havoc across the region. Subfreezing temperatures caused water pipes to burst, flooding homes and businesses.
Area 911 centers reported higher-than-average call volumes due largely to burst water pipes. Habersham County E-911 fielded numerous calls over Christmas weekend. In cities from Atlanta to Athens, local emergency officials urge the public to refrain from calling 911 about burst pipes. Athens-Clarke County Fire Emergency Services issued a notice Christmas day advising the public to, instead, call property management or a private plumber to take care of their water issues.
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“We know this is a highly stressful situation; however, fire department and public safety resources should not be utilized to shut off water or to diagnose issues due to frozen pipes,” the notice states. “This saves these limited resources and allows them to remain available for fires and other life-threatening emergencies. If you have an issue with burst water pipes, please do not call 911.”
“We have received numerous calls in reference to frozen pipes. No particular area was hit the hardest. It was county-wide,” says Habersham County Assistant E-911 Director Melanie Bellinger.
Despite the high volume of calls in Habersham, Bellinger advises people should call 911 if they are experiencing damage to their homes and businesses. There are also times when burst pipes pose a public threat, such as what happened over the weekend in White County.
On Christmas Eve, a sprinkler system burst inside a strip mall on Highway 129 south of Cleveland and flooded three businesses. Three vacant units also flooded.
Water draining from the back of the stores flowed onto Highway 75 and caused dangerously icy road conditions. A White County Fire Rescue crew alerted passing motorists to the hazard as a county road crew treated the highway.
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Trent Crawford of WRWH.com contributed to this report
