Rome under flash flood watch: Berry takes precautions for more rain

the rain rain rain came down down down — Caroline Jennings | Campus Carrier

With rain beginning Tuesday and extending through the rest of the week, Floyd County and many other neighboring areas are finding their streets underwater.

On Wednesday afternoon, a flash flood watch, a flood warning, a lightening alert and a special weather statement were issued by the National Weather Service for Floyd County, describing the potentially hazardous winds, storms and river flooding. According to the National Weather Service, the Ooostanaula River in Rome will continue to rise over 25 feet through tonight. Additionally, Heritage Park in Rome will continue to flood, with areas reaching up to 5 feet deep.

Berry is continuing to respond accordingly; Gary Will, assistant vice president of Campus Security, alerted the campus yesterday morning via email of the special weather statement that was in effect until last night. The statement warns of rough conditions which may cause falling trees, powerlines and other effects of strong winds and over-saturated soil.

Later on Wednesday, Will sent another alert that thunderstorms that afternoon damaged the electronic control panels at the service road gates. According to the email, the road will be closed until it is repaired Thursday morning.

With these storms, several buildings on campus experienced temporary power outages, including the Cage Center, McAllister, Laughlin and Dana Hall last Tuesday night. According to Meghan Kelly, a junior sports medicine trainer working in the Cage on Tuesday, several people working out on the treadmill fell off when the machines immediately stopped due to the power outage.

Additionally, the SGA meeting was canceled due to the severe conditions Tuesday night.

“We considered that the grand majority of our attendees walk to and from SGA,” SGA President Anna Katherine Drew said. “With the city declaring a flood warning and asking people to stay inside for the night, we thought it would be better to be safe than sorry.”