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Deadly floods hit south-east US

Other News Materials 23 September 2009 00:55 (UTC +04:00)

Floods set off by torrential rain are now known to have left at least eight people dead in the south-eastern US, including seven in Georgia, BBC reported.

Rescuers found the body of a 15-year-old boy early on Tuesday, several hours after he was swept away by floodwaters.

Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue has declared a state of emergency in 17 counties after nearly 600mm (2ft) of rain fell in the past two days.

Flooding has also affected Tennessee, Alabama, Kentucky and North Carolina.

Forecasters are warning of more heavy rain and possible flash floods.

Among the worst-hit areas was Douglas County in Georgia where four people died in separate incidents. A woman died in Gwinnett County when she was swept away.

In Carroll County, heavy rain turned a small stream into raging waters that ripped apart a mobile home where a two-year-old boy lived.

His father clung on to him but the boy was pulled away, his body being found hours later, officials said.

On Tuesday morning, the body of a teenager was recovered from the Chattooga River, several hours after being carried away.

The boy and a friend were swept up away by fast-moving water as they tried to reach someone trapped in a vehicle, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

The second boy was quickly rescued.

In Chattanooga, Tennessee, a man was presumed drowned in an overflowing creek, officials said, while an Alabama man drowned when a pond bank gave way, the Associated Press reported.

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