COBB COUNTY, Ga. — Cobb County Department of Transportation said it's all hands on deck ahead of Helene's arrival.
11Alive followed crews around as they worked to clear drains ahead of the storm.
"We use a rodder hose from this vactor truck to push water and force water in. It has a high-powered jet to pull the rest of the debris out to open up the drainage system," said Demario Langford with Cobb DOT.
He said crews focused on problem spots that typically see flooding during heavy rainfall.
"We go out, and we’ll have either this Vactor truck or we’ll have a crew with an excavator to come out and dig out the open channel ditches. That way, we can get a good water flow and not back up the streets and cause any flooding in our roadways," Langford said.
He added that along with people on the roads on Wednesday, they also have emergency crews on standby.
"With all the storms and the water coming in, we don’t want those systems backed up, and we don’t want to potentially cause flooding on the roadways or in our neighborhoods, our communities," Langford said.
He added that people in the community are key to helping them make sure the needed work gets done. Langford said Cobb DOT uses an app called SeeClickFix, which people can download on their phone to report issues in their neighborhoods.
"Whether it be potholes, clogged drainage systems, downed stop signs, we really rely on the citizens to use the app," he said.
Langford said crews will typically show up within a day or two to try and resolve the issue.