McCaysville man reunited with all seven cats after flooding: "It's a relief"

Four days after record flooding hit north Georgia, a boil water advisory remains in effect for people in McCaysville. "We've had approximately 875 structures evaluated," said Robert Poole, public information officer with Fannin County EMA. Poole said crews know of about 20 more to check. He said they are still finding more structures as they reach areas which were cut off by the water. Poole said the McCaysville water system was shut down for quite some time. He said it is back up, but people on the system should flush the water until it runs clear and then boil it. He said this includes people living outside the city limits. "The water we have now, we can use it to flush toilets," said Susan Kiker, who lives in McCaysville. Susan Kiker, a resident of McCaysville, said she will use bottled or boiled water until the state says the water is safe to drink. Poole said, to his knowledge, no one has died or been hurt in Fannin County. He said many people lost homes and business inventory. "There is a tremendous amount of people I've spoken to that do not have flood insurance, and some that do," said Poole. Poole said the damage counts are meant to see if the county meets a threshold. If it does, the governor can ask FEMA to evaluate the damage, which could open the door to federal help. Poole said Highway 2 along Fightingtown Creek was one of the hardest hit areas. He said some of the first calls came from there, including one about a person trapped in a car which was swept down the creek. "And there was 1 or 2 houses, I believe, that were completely swept away on this creek," said Poole. On Monday, tow crews were still pulling cars out of the water. "We had to just go in there and hook to it," said Koltyn Lucas of Allison Towing. Lucas said the water was freezing. He said there are quite a few vehicles still in the creek. "Hopefully be able to get everybody's vehicle out by, you know, next couple of weeks," said Lucas. In McCaysville, Billy Paschall showed CBS News Atlanta what the water left behind at his home. The rooms are empty. "The water got up pretty high, almost like five feet or so," said Paschall. Paschall said all seven of his cats went missing during the flood. He found the last one, named Bounce, while CBS News Atlanta was interviewing him. "It's a relief," said Paschall. Paschall spoke by phone on Thursday with CBS News Atlanta meteorologist Orelon Sidney, who loves cats. He said her advice worked. "She told me if I put the cat box out, that it would make them feel like I wanted them to come to me or something like that," said Paschall. Paschall said he still needs a new place to live. He plans to ask the Humane Society for help finding homes for his cats. He said he feels more hopeful than he did days ago. Poole said shelters are open at the Fannin County Recreation Department, with trailers for showers and laundry. He asked people to stay out of the hard-hit areas so volunteers and crews can work. He said people who want to donate should check the Fannin County EMA Facebook page for current needs. In: Georgia Severe Weather Flooding Featured Local Savings