Cass County in state of emergency following severe weekend storms

Judge Ransom filed a state of disaster for Cass County with the County Clerk on Sunday, Apr. 6 after assessing the damage left by the weekend storms. It was determined that “extraordinary measures must be taken to alleviate the suffering of people, protect or rehabilitate property, and to clear our roads or repair our infrastructure.”

The severe weather, which ravaged Cass County beginning on Friday, Apr. 4 through Sunday, Apr. 6 caused significant widespread damage to property, infrastructure, county roads, and rights-of-way.

Meteorologists and local storm chasers tracked a tornado-producing, high-precipitation supercell out of Linden on Saturday, Apr. 5 as it passed eastwards towards Atlanta, while weather reports from Texarkana reported surrounding areas averaged about seven inches or more of precipitation by the end of the final storm on Sunday.

The supercell reported out of Linden was one of several tornado watches over the weekend, which warned against “extreme threat to life and property” according to alerts from the National Weather Service which lit up mobile phones across the Northeast Texas region.

In the aftermath of the storms, residents took to social media to post photos of the damage and flooding received around their homes and businesses. The City of Atlanta Facebook page announced a water leak had occurred during the severe weather on Saturday, Apr. 5 which had left the Southwest side of town without water. However, locating the leak was impeded by the amount of water on the ground due to flooding. An update on the situation was posted the following day that crews believed they had isolated the leak but would be unable to start the repair process until the next morning.

A boil order was issued later the same day urging Atlanta residents to boil water prior to consumption, which included the use of water for washing the hands and face and brushing teeth. Alternatively, residents could purchase water bottles.

The order was put in place due to harmful bacteria that may be found in the current low-pressure water systems as crews work around the clock to return systems to full functionality. Children, seniors, and persons with compromised immune systems are particularly vulnerable to bacteria and are encouraged to follow the boiling directions posted on the City of Atlanta website, as are all residents of Atlanta.

The state of disaster will remain in effect no more than seven days after the filing date (Apr. 6).