Atlanta was inundated by floods that swept away cars and inundated the Georgia Aquarium
Flash floods submerge vehicles in downtown Atlanta
A video filmed in downtown Atlanta shows a parking lot turned into a small lake. About 2 inches of rain fell in the area in less than two hours, according to the FOX Forecast Center. (Courtesy: @JToddGeorge/X)
Atlanta – Thunderstorms caused flash flooding across central Georgia Thursday afternoon, submerging vehicles in downtown Atlanta as roads filled with floodwaters.
A powerful storm dropped about 2 inches of rain in less than two hours, according to FOX Weather Chief Meteorologist Greg Diamond.
Photos and video from Atlanta captured how flooding affected Georgia’s capital. The video above shows one scene where the parking lot was turned into a small lake, swallowing cars and even part of a FedEx truck.
The photo below shows the vehicles being swept down the hill by fast-moving floodwaters, landing in a flooded parking lot near Mercedes-Benz Stadium, according to FOX 5 in Atlanta.
A flooded area near the Mercedes-Benz Stadium. September 14, 2023. (@maybud12 / @BillyHeathFOX5 / X / FOX 5 Atlanta)
How much floodwater would it take to damage a car?
Another photo shows flooded roads under two bridges as drivers try to make their way.
Floods in Atlanta. September 14, 2023. (Yolanda Brown/Facebook/Fox Weather)
Videos circulating online showed floodwaters at the Georgia Aquarium, which ended up closing for the rest of the day. Officials issued the following statement to local station FOX:
“This has nothing to do with the safety of our exhibits and does not impact our animals. The water is completely weather related, and we have crews currently working to clean up. There were some severe thunderstorms in the area earlier and the water is rainwater.”
Effects of massive flooding in downtown Atlanta
This video shows a flooded parking lot, where witnesses say cars were swept away by floodwaters. September 14, 2023. (Courtesy of Megan Varner)
In addition to the floods, the storms also uprooted trees. The following photo was taken in northwest Atlanta on English Avenue, where tree branches snapped and fell onto the road.
Storm damage in northwest Atlanta. September 14, 2023. (Lisa Bennett/Facebook/FoxWeather)
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The area was under a severe thunderstorm warning earlier Thursday afternoon, affecting more than 770,000 people. According to Diamond, there are still scattered storms in the forecast for Atlanta through Thursday evening.
