Flooded main street in a small Appalachian border town at dawn

McCaysville, Day Two: Mud Out, Water Plant Down, Curfew On

November 6, 2026: the rescue count passes 80 in Fannin County, and a town flooded twice in three months starts the cleanup clock again.

Published November 6, 2026 · WaterDamageEmergencyNow

Friday in McCaysville

The water is gone from downtown McCaysville, Georgia. The mud is not. On Friday, November 6, 2026, residents along the Toccoa River were sweeping out mud and hauling away soaked debris, one day after the river crested at a record 18.05 feet and put 6 to 7 feet of water through parts of downtown.

The rescue count kept climbing. McCaysville's police chief first reported about 45 rescues in the city on Thursday morning. By Thursday afternoon, officials put rescues at more than 80 across Fannin County, and the Associated Press count — 57 rescues in Georgia and 68 in Tennessee — totals at least 125 across the two border states.
The river rose about 16 feet in 12 hours, cresting at 18.05 feet at about 7:00 a.m. Thursday and passing the previous record, set in February 1990.
Governor Brian Kemp's state of emergency covers Fannin, Gilmer, Murray, and Union Counties and runs through Thursday, November 12, to keep state resources flowing into the response.
Fannin County schools and government offices remained closed Friday.

The Water Plant Is Down — and That Sets the Day's Rules

Flood damage forced a complete shutdown of McCaysville's municipal water treatment plant, with no estimated timeline for restoring it. Every customer on the McCaysville water system is under an indefinite boil-water advisory: tap water brought to a full rolling boil for at least one minute before drinking, cooking, or brushing teeth.

Drinking water distribution ran Friday, November 6, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the building directly behind McCaysville City Hall.
A mandatory nightly curfew, 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m., is in effect under the city's local state of emergency, which began Thursday night.
The city itself flooded in August. Thursday's flood hit a town still recovering from flash flooding three months earlier, which damaged the police station and post office; the renovated police building had reopened only the previous week.
Runoff is not finished. The Tennessee Valley Authority warned Friday that heavy runoff from mountain streams continues to feed the Toccoa and Ocoee watershed, and urged caution near the river for several more days.

Day Two Is a Cleanup Clock, Not a Breather

1. Treat every wet surface as contaminated. River water that shut down a treatment plant is not clean water. What that category of cleanup costs, and why, is in today's cost guide.

2. Mud out, then dry, inside the window. The 24-to-48-hour mold clock started when the water went down on Thursday. Extraction and drying that start Friday are a different, cheaper job than the same work next week.

3. Photograph the mud line before you sweep it. In McCaysville the mud line is the water line, and the water line is the claim.

4. Work through the county directory. The Blue Ridge, Georgia page lists the providers serving Fannin County, where this event's story began yesterday.

Sources for this article: FOX Weather, updated November 6, 2026 (recovery, rescue totals, governor's emergency declaration); Associated Press reporting via NowGeorgia, November 5, 2026 (57 Georgia and 68 Tennessee rescues, water treatment plant shutdown, August flood history); FOX 5 Atlanta reporting via Georgia Trend, November 6, 2026 (cleanup under way); city boil-water, water-distribution, and curfew details as reported November 6, 2026. Figures are as reported Friday and may be updated by officials.

Questions, Answered Straight

Is McCaysville's water safe to drink after the flood?

No. Flood damage shut down the McCaysville municipal water treatment plant, and all customers on the city water system are under an indefinite boil-water advisory: bring tap water to a full rolling boil for at least one minute before drinking, cooking, or brushing teeth. The city distributed bottled drinking water behind City Hall on Friday, November 6, 2026.

How many people were rescued in the McCaysville flood?

Counts rose as reports came in: McCaysville's police chief first reported about 45 rescues in the city, officials later put Fannin County rescues at more than 80, and the Associated Press reported at least 57 rescues in Georgia and 68 in Tennessee, at least 125 across the border.

Why is there a curfew in McCaysville?

Under the local state of emergency declared Thursday morning, November 5, 2026, McCaysville imposed a mandatory nightly curfew from 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. while cleanup crews, utility work, and debris removal operate in a downtown that was under 6 to 7 feet of water the day before.

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