The worst is likely to be over

The Weather Service is calling for a 40 percent chance of rain and some thunder in the metro area, and a 50 percent chance of rain in northern Georgia for Tuesday – but nothing severe.

“Nothing like what we have been seeing,” Griffith said.

A 40 percent chance of rain will remain in effect for the rest of the week.

“The new rainfall could be about half an inch, but otherwise rainfall amounts should be light,” Griffith said. “This should allow for the areas that had flooding to subside.”

As of 12:30 p.m., rain was falling in northwest Georgia near LaFayette, but it was beginning to dissipate, Griffith.

Flood warnings remain in effect for about two dozen counties – including Gwinnett, Douglas, Carroll, Cherokee and Forsyth counties. But they are expected to all expire by Thursday at the latest, Griffith said.

The only flood warning that will remain in effect for the entire week is for the Ocmulgee River near Macon, which extends until Saturday night.

“As long as we're not getting rainfall, this should allow water to run off and the soil to soak some of the water off,” Griffith said.

The Chattahoochee River flooded I-285 in both directions between South Cobb Drive and Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway, and late Tuesday morning, authorities shut down the ramps from I-75 and I-20 to that stretch of the Perimeter. Traffic on I-75 southbound quickly backed up to the North Marietta Loop, a distance of about five miles.

Flood waters from both the Chattahoochee and from Sweetwater Creek swamped I-20, forcing officials to shut down that interstate in both directions between Fulton Industrial Boulevard and Fairburn Road.

In Cherokee County, I-575 at Ga. 92, which had been closed in both directions since Monday afternoon, was reopened to traffic after the morning rush hour.

Around the state, flooding had taken its toll:

CASUALTIES: The death toll from the heavy rains climbed to seven early Tuesday when rescuers found a victim of flooding in Chattooga County.

Two teen-age boys waded into the water Monday afternoon to help someone they believed was trapped in a Jeep. Both boys were swept away but one of them was rescued quickly. Volunteers and Chattooga County emergency officials searched overnight before finding the body of the second teen.

Elsewhere, six other people, including a 2-year-old, were killed in Douglas, Carroll and Gwinnett counties.

ROADS: Georgia Department of Transportation crews closed 11 bridges and a number of state-controlled roads and highways after Monday's flooding.

DOT officials recommended that commuters who didn't need to travel remain home.

"If someone is in an area that is experiencing flooding over the past few days, it may be a challenge to commute," spokeswoman Crystal Paulk-Buchanan. "The challenge that people are going to have are county roads and city roads."

Among state thoroughfares, I-285 northbound at Hollowell Parkway and southbound at South Cobb Drive in Cobb County remained closed,  because water from the Chattahoochee River was cresting the bridges.

Flooding on Sweetwater Creek closed the I-20 eastbound lane between Lee and Thornton roads. The bridge will remain closed until the water recedes, and detours are in place.

DOT also closed I-575 just at Highway 92 near the Cobb-Cherokee county line for flooding. DOT officials expect to open the three closed roads sometime Tuesday, but Paulk-Buchanan said, in particular, bridges will remain closed so long as water is touching the underside of the bridges.

"Water could impact the structural integrity of the bridge," she said. "If we have not been there to inspect the bridge, we will not open it."

Paulk-Buchanan said the water on I-575 had receded enough by Tuesday morning to permit inspection of the bridge. That will be done as soon as daylight permits, she said.

Check the DOT Web site, Georgia Navigator for the latest information on state-supported road closures.

Cobb County Department of Transporations reports  approximately 180 roads closed due to flooding. A complete list of roads closed can be found here. Cobb DOT spokesman Robert Quigley said crews will work through the night to remove 19 of the 38 trees reported down on county roads.

Douglas County reported more than 130 roads closed. For the latest list of road closings, click here.

EVACUATIONS: Homes and businesses near Denton Road in Paulding County were evacuated when a dam failed and washed out the road. A second dam around Carrington Point off of Bakers Bridge has partially breached, resulting in evacuations. County officials concerned about erosion at a third dam on Highway 120 near Highway 92 evacuated nearby homes.

In Cobb County, Fire rescue crews are using boats to remove 70 residents in the area of Columns Drive near the Cobb-Fulton County line and the Chattahoochee River, authorities said. Officials told residents seeking to leave the tony neighborhood, that once evacuated, they would not be able to return to the area until the water level has gone down.

DeKalb County issued a voluntary evacuation notice for residents living near Nancy Cree, Peachtree Creek, Yellow River and South River.

More than 1,500 people were evacuated from the northwest Georgia town of Trion, where the Chattooga River breached a levee there. Volunteer crews were working to shore up the levee, which had held as of Tuesday morning.

SCHOOLS: Most metro Atlanta school districts, including Atlanta, Fulton, Gwinnett, DeKalb and Cobb counties will close schools Tuesday because of the flooding. For more on school closings, click here.

OTHER CLOSINGS: The Paulding County government offices will be closed on Tuesday according to the Paulding County Web site.

UTILITIES: The city of Hiram is reporting a complete loss of power, according to Paulding County police. Well water pumps are out, which impacts city residents who use well water.

About 9,300 Georgia Power customers were without power at 8 a.m. Tuesday, a company spokeswoman said.

That figure was higher — about 12,000 an hour earlier — but the utility was able to restore electricity to between 3,000 and 4,000 customers in the western part of the state, spokeswoman Carol Boatright said.

The constant fluctuating of outages may be the tale for the next couple of days as crews work to restore power but rain-soaked ground loosens trees, causing them to fall and take out power lines with them, Boatright said.

In many cases, crews must wait for flood waters to recede before they can work.  "It could be a fairly slow process," she said.

Georgia Power brought in 400 additional crews from other parts of the state to help turn the lights on more quickly, she said.

At this point power-less customers should take the stance that the utility knows their electricity is out and do not need to report an outage, Boatright said. As the weather improves and more lights come back on, those who are still in the dark should call in, she said.

Anyone who sees a downed power line should treat it as if it is energized and call the utility or law enforcement immediately, she said.

WATER: A boil water advisory has been issued for Paulding County because portions of the water system have been compromised in the southeast part of county at various locations, county officials said.  Some areas are loosing pressure.

DISRUPTIONS: Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Monday had intermittent ground stops halting flight arrivals for short periods, which could continue. Late Monday afternoon, some arrivals at Hartsfield-Jasckson were delayed an average of 3 hours and 42 minutes, according to the Federal Aviation Administration's website.

DeKalb County officials were forced to move Tuesday's 9 a.m. Board of Commissioners meeting and a 6:30 p.m. zoning public hearing to Decatur City Hall because the Maloof Auditorium in the county's administration building was flooded.

RETAIL: Late Monday, Atlanta-based Home Depot reported customers were buying up bottled water, bleach and other cleaning supplies and sandbags. In some limited cases, customers were buying electric generators, said Craig Fishel, a Home Depot spokesman. Home Depot stores in Powder Springs and Douglasville reported heavily volumes of traffic but "as the afternoon has gone on, we've seen customers all over metro Atlanta," he said. In the past, Home Depot has had some of its stores remain open 24 hours following natural disasters such as last year's Hurricane Gustav that hit the Gulf Coast. Fishel said the company will monitor the flooding for the next few days before making a determination.

SPORTS: Only 500 hockey fans turned out for the Thrashers' preseason home opener at a Philips Arena that holds 19,000, nearly 40 times the amount.

HISTORY: Despite the high water levels, however, Georgia Water Science Center assistant director Brian McCollum, stopped short of calling the storm a "100-year flood." "It is too soon to say," said McCollum, who's agency is part of the US Geological Survey. "We will not have an exact reading until early Tuesday. The streams are still rising."

A wall of water going down the Chattahoochee River is threatening the bridge near Whitesburg and setting a new record for a river crest, authorities said. The river surpassed the 1919 record of 29.11 feet on Monday and is expected to crest at 31.5 feet by today, according to the National Weather Service web site.The DOT has said it would close the bridge on U.S. 27 if river surpasses the crest prediction by a few feet and starts to hit the bridge, said Jay Jones, head of the Coweta County Emergency Management Agency.

Staff writer Mike Morris contributed to this article.