Recovery continues after severe storms rip through North Georgia

ATLANTA - Severe overnight storms swept across North Georgia on Wednesday, knocking down trees, cutting power and trapping residents while torrential rain led to a road washout in Gilmer County. 

Gilmer County

A powerful storm washed out a section of Highway 52 in Gilmer County, causing a major water line break and leaving a massive hole beneath the road surface. 

Torrential rainfall caused a severe road collapse at the intersection of Highway 52 and Hancock Drive. Rising floodwaters washed away the road's shoulder first before exposing a main water line underneath. 

The exposed pipe broke, sending leaking water to erode giant chunks of earth directly beneath the cement. The extent of the erosion forced officials to close the road. 

Drivers must avoid this stretch of Highway 52 because traffic will not be getting through anytime soon. 

Area residents can utilize multiple local detours to navigate around the closure. 

The local water authority successfully repaired the main water line and began turning the system back on.

Georgia Department of Transportation crews are taking over the scene using a backhoe and dump truck to fill the missing gap with dirt to secure the roadway.

Officials have not specified when Highway 52 will fully reopen to traffic.

In Gilmer County, a fallen tree blocked the intersection of Four Town Road and Old Flat Branch Road.

A bystander used a chainsaw to chop up branches so commuters could pass before crews cleared the roadway. 

Rising waters from Mountain Town Creek brushed the top of a bridge, while flooding hit a Piedmont Hospital parking lot and residential areas off Shane Club Drive at Cox Creek.

DeKalb County

Fallen trees blocked roads along Northern Avenue near I-285 in Clarkston and knocked out power in the middle of the storm. 

One homeowner was temporarily trapped inside a home on Northern Avenue but managed to escape safely.

A man named Kemta Sirie was working overnight when his pregnant wife called him home because she went into labor. 

RELATED: Clarkston woman delivers healthy baby girl amid severe storms

Sirie arrived, saw his wife and flagged down passing emergency workers who were inspecting storm damage in the apartment complex. Paramedics helped deliver a healthy baby girl, marking the fifth child for the couple.

Pickens County

In Pickens County, lightning struck a historic marble monument on Main Street in downtown Jasper. Local officials are asking people to avoid the Main Street area while crews assess structural damage.

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Drivers traveling near Clarkston and northern counties should plan for extra travel time or use alternate routes until daylight cleanup finishes. No storm-related injuries have been reported across the region.