Thomasville officials prepare for severe flooding from Tropical Storm Helene

THOMASVILLE, Ga. (WALB) - Neighbors in Thomasville are all too familiar with flooding.

Thomasville business owners on Smith Avenue are bracing themselves for Tropical Storm Helene’s impacts.

Jessica Miller, manager of Rock Bottom Seafood, said since the intersection is prone to flooding, she’s expecting knee-deep flooding conditions that will make it impossible for them to work.

“People always drive their cars through it when it’s flooding and they get stuck. It’s just not a really safe area when it’s raining,” she said.

That’s why businesses like Rock Bottom Seafood are planning to close on Thursday. Thomasville residents have also already started collecting sandbags and wooden boards to barricade their properties from the incoming threat.

“The concern is for everyone’s safety,” Miller said.

These concerns come as residents just barely finished clean-up efforts from Hurricane Debby in August. EMA officials tell WALB, they finished cleaning up hanging debris from Debby a week ago—just in time to prepare for Tropical Storm Helene.

“They removed a lot of what we call hangers that were on our public ride aways, or limbs or very large pieces of trees that were very problematic. There’s a very good chance of them falling in the near future in a storm like this,” said Chris Jones, Thomas County EMA director.

But still, officials are most concerned about downed trees, flooding, and power outages.

“We’re not in control. So, we just have to channel that emotion and get it where it needs to be and focus where it needs to be. And that is focusing on our community,” Jones said.

Jones said the best thing residents can do to stay safe is to prepare as early as possible before tropical Storm Helene hits South Georgia.

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