6 Feet of Water Fills Copperhill Home, Stranding Retired Couple

Retired couple Tommy and Sandra Edwards escaped their home in Copperhill on Thursday morning with their dog after floodwaters rose to approximately 6 feet inside the house.

The water entered during the night, covering floors, furniture, and three motorcycles with mud and silt. Several inches of standing water remained when the couple returned to the property hours later. They have not yet determined what items can be salvaged from the residence.

The Edwardses have lived along Fightingtown Creek for more than 10 years. They stated that they had never experienced flooding of this magnitude in their neighborhood. Sandra Edwards said rain fell throughout Wednesday, with storms continuing into the evening. She received weather alerts but believed the warnings applied primarily to Blue Ridge, Georgia, and expected their home to remain dry.

The couple went to bed around 11:30 p.m. on Wednesday. At approximately 2 a.m. on Thursday, Tommy Edwards woke to use the bathroom and found the home flooding. Sandra Edwards jumped out of bed and moved to the living room, where she saw personal belongings floating in the rising water. She looked outside and observed that the water level had already risen above the deck. She told her husband they needed to leave immediately. The pair grabbed their dog, Willow, and rushed to safety. Sandra Edwards said Tommy nearly became trapped inside the structure during the escape.

Damage extended beyond the Edwards property along West Tennessee Avenue. Floodwaters washed out a culvert near Fightingtown Creek, leaving roads covered in thick layers of silt and debris. Water levels reached more than 6 feet in certain areas. The current carried lawn chairs, patio furniture, and lumber downstream. Several large propane tanks floated along the swollen creek. Other tanks washed up against hillsides or became trapped in piles of debris. Many local homes rely on propane because they lack access to natural gas lines.

Swift-water rescue crews drove through the neighborhood on Thursday to check on residents as water levels slowly dropped. The flooding also caused extensive damage in nearby McCaysville, Georgia, just across the state line. Emergency crews continued their work as the water receded, allowing residents to begin cleanup operations.