By Kristy Deer | Daily Reporter
HANCOCK COUNTY — Heavy rain on Thursday flash-flood warnings for Hancock County and others throughout the state.
Come Friday morning, much of the water that hasn’t receded will be frozen.
Misty Moore, Hancock County Emergency Management director said the county was inundated with calls about flooded roads Thursday. About 3 inches of rain fell in the county on Wednesday and Thursday.
County crews put sandbags and “High Water” signs along low-lying stretches to warn drivers of dangerous areas.
Gary Pool of the Hancock County Highway Department said about the best county officials can do when it rains so much in a short amount of time is to put up the signs and ask drivers to be careful.
“The county is flat, so we’ve got water everywhere and it spreads out,” Pool said. “The only good news is it’s shallow…
Pool was more concerned about roads late Thursday night and into Friday, when temperatures are expected to drop to around 20 degrees. That could cause ice to form in many places, making travel hazardous for drivers.
Pool and others in charge of repairing streets and roads also are thinking about the damage being done by the unusual freeze-thaw cycles this winter.
“The weather is just going to destroy the roads,” Pool said.
He’s expecting his crews to have at least a months worth of pothole fixes to make once the rain clears and they can get to work sometime next week.
“It a shame because we’ve done a lot of good work on our roads and it’s getting washed away, but that’s Mother Nature; she does what she wants,” Pool said.
