Record flooding has swamped towns on the Georgia-Tennessee border, killing one person and forcing more than 100 water rescues after a downpour the National Weather Service classified as a 1-in-1,000-year rainfall event. The same storm system then moved up the Atlantic coast, bringing heavy rain to the north-east.

The rain fell fast on Wednesday night into Thursday morning, 5 November, with some spots in north Georgia receiving 6 to 11 inches. Across the watershed around Blue Ridge, Georgia, 10.28 inches fell in six hours and 11.19 inches in 12 hours, CNN reports. That is a rate with only a 0.1 percent chance in any given year.

The runoff poured into the Toccoa River, which becomes the Ocoee River as it crosses into Tennessee. The river rose about 16 feet in 12 hours and crested at 18.05 feet at Copperhill on Thursday morning, passing the February 1990 record of 17.75 feet. Water reached six to seven feet deep in downtown McCaysville, submerging some buildings to their rooflines.

Julie Barrs, 56, was found dead on Thursday after her vehicle was swamped by a flooded mountain creek in Murray County, the county sheriff told CNN. At least 117 people had been rescued across Georgia and Tennessee by Friday afternoon, including 97 in Fannin County alone. No serious injuries were reported. Flash flood emergencies were issued for McCaysville and Copperhill on Thursday morning.

Georgia Governor Brian Kemp declared a state of emergency for Fannin, Gilmer, Murray and Union counties, while Tennessee's emergency agency activated its operations centre. Floodwater shut McCaysville's water treatment plant, and dislodged propane tanks floated through the streets; one caught fire and exploded. It is the second disastrous flood in three months for the two towns: the National Weather Service classified an August flood there as a 1-in-500-year event.