west of Atlanta , including Douglas , Paulding and Cobb , were among the worst hit . The National Guard was poised to enter the area if necessary . See photo gallery of flooding '' Aerial video of Powder Springs , near the Paulding-Douglas county line , showed scores of homes swallowed by muddy waters as the rain refused to subside . In one Powder Springs neighborhood , a fire truck floated near a cluster of two-story homes , with the charred remnants of one house smoldering a few yards from the failed response . Watch home burn , surrounded by water '' Cars , trucks , buses and campers were flung into the currents , sinking near bent signs , fallen trees and downed power lines . Rescuers started rowing through affected areas in inflatable boats . After flying over the disastrous scenes in Paulding and Douglas counties , Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue declared a state of emergency in those and 15 other counties hit by floods . At least five flood-related deaths were reported across Atlanta-area counties -- three fatalities in Douglas , one in Gwinnett and one , a child , in Carrollton . A Douglas County
ATLANTA , Georgia -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- The incessant banging on the door finally roused Ted Jackson from a deep sleep . Floodwaters roar across the highway in Paulding County , one of the hardest-hit in Georgia . He hustled out of bed and rushed to the door . There were his neighbors , surrounded by floodwaters the neighborhood is supposed to experience only once every 100 years . Jackson raced to his basement and the water level -- submerging nine of the 13 steps to the floor -- filled him with dread . His dog , a 2-year-old pomeranian , slept in a kennel down there . `` My first initial thought was my dog is dead ... he did n't have a chance , '' said Jackson of Powder Springs , Georgia , where he and the rest of the residents in the metro Atlantan subdivision spent Monday stranded by acres and acres of water . The dog , named J.J. , died in the flooded basement . Jackson is just one of thousands of Georgia residents trying to salvage their homes after days of rain rushed deadly flood waters to their part of the world . Counties