More heavy rainfall is hindering search efforts for a man presumed dead after heavy water swept him away Sunday night.
Two men were holding onto a chain link fence near 2310 E. 14th St. about 6 p.m. to keep from being swept into the culvert after wading in high water near a storm drain, officials said.
Firefighters and paramedics rescued one man, but the other man was pulled down into a flooded culvert.
The fire department plans to work with the city’s Public Works Department to determine the flow of culverts and sewers, and may send men or cameras down into sewers and culverts to try to locate the body, said Chattanooga Fire Department spokesman Bruce Garner.
“Our search efforts are being hampered by the additional rainfall that we’re getting overnight and today,” Mr. Garner said this morning. “When conditions improve, then we hope we’ll be able to resume the search.”
Heavy rainfall in the Chattanooga area had emergency personnel responding to multiple reports of flooded vehicles and stranded motorists this morning, Mr. Garner said.
The Tennessee Department of Transportation has reported three accidents on Interstates 24 and 75 this morning.
All are expected to be cleared by 11 a.m., according to TDOT.
The heavy rain forced closing of multiple roads in East Ridge, including portions and lanes of Ringgold Road, said East Ridge police spokesman Erik Hopkins. Emergency personnel also have conducted a few evacuations.
“We’ve been out here long enough that we know areas that are prone to flooding and these types of problems,” Officer Hopkins said. “We’re monitoring areas closely as necessary and either closing roads or moving people out.”
See tomorrow’s Times Free Press for complete details.
East Ridge floods again, so let's build a park, build unneeded schools, raise the ugly flag, and have King Curtis "I Am Not A Dictator" Adams sail his flotilla down Ringgold Road.
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