(All photos courtesy of www.ajc.com)

It’s been a devastating few days here in metro Atlanta. Storms that raged through our area on Sunday and Monday (not to mention the rain we had all last week) wreaked havoc and caused nine deaths. In downtown Atlanta, the downtown connector, where Interstates 75 and 85 merge, was closed because of water covering the road, and photos showed drivers sitting on top of their cars waiting to be rescued. Interstate 285, which circles the city of Atlanta, was closed; Interstate 575, which parallels Interstate 75, was closed for almost 24 hours; and Interstate 20 in Douglas County, where my in-laws live, was closed until 12:30 p.m. today.

Interstate 75 was flooded at rush hour on Monday afternoon.

Close to 20 inches of rain fell in the metro area. Weather forecasters say 12-18 inches fell in Douglas County, which was one of the counties that took the brunt of the storm. My in-laws have been home from work for the last two days, and my father-in-law barely made it onto I-285 before it was shut down Monday night. Not only was the interstate closed in their county, but parts of the roads in their subdivision were washed away, making it harder to get out. One woman died was found on the road you turn off of into their subdivision.

A washed out road in Douglas County.

A flooded Nissan car dealership in Douglas County.

A flooded road in Douglas County.

A view of flooding in Douglas County.

In Gwinnett County, on the other side of Atlanta where Rachel and Dave live, the flooding was insane, much of it coming from the swollen Yellow River. Their basement flooded, but luckily the rest of their house was fine, even though their road flooded. The other section of their road was closed off, and from what I heard, the road they would take to get to the hospital where they’re delivering was flooded. It’s a good thing she didn’t go into labor! These pictures of of a flooded subdivision near where Rachel and Dave live.

We were so blessed in our county. Yes, we had heavy storms roll through, but our damage was so minimal compared to the other metro areas. We had approximately 25 houses that flooded and a handful of streets closed. That’s it. No injuries, no fatalities. We were lucky. And, this has really made me feel lucky that we live on a hill. Sure, our hill is hell to walk up when we go out to exercise, but it sure kept our house safe from flooding, and for that I am very grateful.

My heart hurts for the families of those who died in the flooding. Reading some of their stories today made me tear up. One woman’s car got caught in the flooding in Gwinnett County as she drove to work very early Monday morning. The darkness made it difficult for her to see the water on the road until it was too late. Her car was swept away and lodged behind a house, and though she stayed on the phone with a 911 dispatcher until the water rose, it took emergency responders more than two hours to get to her because of the flooding and other issues.

And, in Carroll County, which is just to the west of where my in-laws live, a 2-year-old boy was swept from his father’s arms as he clung to a tree, trying to save himself and his son. His family of four barely escaped their mobile home before it was taken off its foundation and swept away. His wife held onto a tree and their 1-year-old son, and they were stuck for about six hours before being rescued. I think that story really hit me the hardest since I’m about to be a parent. I can only imagine the pain those parents are going through.

The rain has stopped for now, though it’s expected to return tomorrow and last through the weekend. It’s not supposed to be nearly as bad as what we’ve already experienced. I sure hope not. It’s going to take a long time to repair what’s already been damaged.