Heavy rains leave RV park residents stranded

COVINGTON, Ga. (FOX 5 Atlanta) - The heavy rain from this weekend and Monday have created havoc for one RV park community in Newton County.

Owners say they had to move dozens of RVs from the park, which is located right near the Yellow River, because of flooding.

Other residents even found their cars flooded from the rain.

Susan Smith, one of the residents of Riverside Estates RV Park, told FOX 5's Patty Pan every time she hears rain in the weather forecast, her heart skips a beat out of fear.

"I had bins underneath my camper that have my mom and my grandmom's stuff in it. And I at least got them up to high places so I wouldn't lose those," Smith said in tears. "I'm really afraid. My husband is very sick and he can't walk out here."

Days of continuous rain and the surging river have turned the campground into a mess of standing water.

Many of residents like Smith live at this park year-round.

"We're here. This is our permanent home. We don't have a car. We don't have a truck. We don't have what it takes to move it, so we're pretty much just on God's prayer that we can get through this," she said.

Ryan Dolan has been out of town for work and came home to find a letter from management alerting residents of the threat of flooding, his RV sitting in water, and his car flooded.

"I opened up the door and 12 inches of water came flowing out and into the road," Dolan said.

Riverside Estates RV Park property manager Ryan Howlington says this flooding doesn't happen all the time.

"That's why we're out here now pulling people out however we can with the equipment we have," Howlington said.

For hours those who could move their RVs did. Others had no choice but to rely on help to move personal belongings, hitch up their RVs and move the ones that could move.

Unfortunately for Smith, her RV is an older model and needs special equipment to be towed.

"I check the radar. I watch the news, I listen for the news to tell me if we're ever going to get a break," she said. "We're warm and so far we're OK right now, but if it keeps raining I don't know what's going to happen to us."

Emergency personnel told FOX 5 that the river has crested and the water is receding. They've already cut the power, which is good for safety reasons, but bad for anyone staying at the park.