After flooding catastrophe, McCaysville deals with lack of running water

The damage in McCaysville is extensive, and this community was still recovering from flooding back in August.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

But what happened here Thursday was even worse.

The Toccoa River rose to a record level, sending floodwaters rushing into downtown businesses and homes. In some areas, water reached eight feet.

Channel 2’s Susan Hendricks spoke with Pastor Mike Cole of McCaysville Church of God, who has been handing out free drinking water to residents for days.

“It’s been a lot all day yesterday, and today we’ve done 15 pallets,” he said. “We’ve got this water left and more on the way.”

RELATED STORIES:

• Water disrupted, roads closed as McCaysville begins rebuilding after catastrophic flood
• Cleanup underway after catastrophic flash flood devastates McCaysville
• Historic rainfall brought 1,000-year rain event to Blue Ridge

Cole described the damage he’s seen.

“Up the 60 it really just pounded there and just became chaos in town. They said within minutes of seeing the first rise it went from two feet to 8 feet really quick.”

And that water is desperately needed right now.

The flooding severely damaged the city’s water treatment plant, leaving residents without reliable running

And there’s still no word on exactly how long residents will be without water. Officials say service cannot be restored until repairs to the treatment plant are completed.

The Salvation Army is now serving free meals at McCaysville City Park, and Publix is providing cleaning supplies and sandwiches at a distribution center on Blue Ridge Drive.

[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]