Arctic Blast: Busted pipes ruin Christmas for some

EAST POINT, Ga. - North Georgians are in for yet another cold night as the ‘Arctic Blast’ lives up to its name.

One of the biggest issues residents are seeing from the winter weather is frozen pipes leading to bursts.

DO NOT CALL 911; WHAT TO DO IF YOUR FROZEN PIPES BURST

An East Point family was one of the likely hundreds dealing with a flood of trouble on Christmas after a pipe burst in an upstairs apartment leading to a shower in their unit below.

"It was flooded in here all the way up to the baseboard," said Tashana Bowman. "So, we swept out as much water as we can. There is still a little standing water."

For Bowman, this was a Christmas nightmare. 

The fire department got the water off, but not before several electronic devices and some furniture was ruined. Bowman said firefighters also had to turn the power off to prevent a fire, which meant Christmas dinner was also off.

"Our plan was to get up and cook and go and visit with family, pass out gifts," Bowman said. "Like, this is so crushing."

Families around the area faced similar problems Sunday as the freezing temperatures continued. 

To prevent frozen pipes, experts recommend you let faucets drip and keep your heat on. If your pipes do freeze, they say you should apply heat to them but do not use an open flame. 

Bowman said she followed the advice, but she was not sure about other units.

"We had ours dripping, and I should have known something this morning. I got up, and I was using the bathroom, and our toilet was like, bloop, bloop, bloop, bloop, bloop, bloop," she said.

If you are dealing with a pipe burst, experts say to turn off the water and power in the area immediately and then call a plumber. If there is damage to drywall, you should contact a water damage professional as well.

Multiple counties in our area have asked people to not call 911 if their pipes burst. They say it is important to keep the emergency lines open for emergency calls.