CAMDEN COUNTY, Ga. -- Floodwater is forcing residents in one Camden County community out of their homes. The St. Marys River is still rising and washing out streets and homes in Browntown. Emergency officials ordered for an evacuation but there are still a few who refuse to pack up and leave.
"I talked to neighbors this morning who were still on the river and that just doesn't make sense to me. When you're told to leave, you leave," said Taylor.
Wading through waist-high water in what was once his backyard, Neil Nighbert is fighting the flood instead of fleeing from it. He spent Saturday weighing down the walkway to his dock with cement barrels.
"It's gone up quite a bit, probably more than three feet," said Nighbert.
But so far, Nightbert is one of the lucky ones. The St. Marys River swallowed streets and flooded homes, leaving outdoor toys and furniture floating in the floodwater. Most residents in the Flea Hill area have packed up and left this water world. Relief is still days away as the river isn't expected to crest until later this week. Nighbert says another five feet and his dock will be just another piece of debris floating away thanks to Debby.
"That's life on the river though," said Nighbert. "If you live on the river you're going to have to face these kinds of things. Willing to take some losses if you have to."
The Camden County Sheriff's Office patrolled the river banks. They are looking for looters and enforcing the no wake zone, which is crucial as the river continues to rise.
"If we came through here now and throw a wake up into yards or on the docks, they are going to bust loose. If the houses are effected by the water even at the door level, we're going to throw that water up beside the house and that's not what we want to do," said Capt. Kevin Chaney.
Flooding forced F-DOT to close a portion of Georgia 40 just west of Browntown. That's adding 45 minutes to the commute between Folkston and Kingsland.
