ATLANTA , Georgia ( CNN ) -- 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 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 hospital reported no running water . Just across the line , in Cobb County , the entrance of Georgia 's largest amusement park , Six Flags , was sitting in water . Watch the flooding in Georgia » . Powder Springs resident Kim Harp woke up at about 4 a.m. Monday as her brother bounded up the stairs from his basement room , reporting water spilling into the home . The family scrambled to save photo albums and other personal valuable , but the water reached a depth of 2 feet in the basement less than two hours later . `` It just came so fast , '' Harp said , adding that the water was at head-level by midday . `` It really terrified us . '' Harp , who lives next door to Jackson , said she and her husband , three children and brother went to bed Sunday after another day of Georgia rains with little worry . After all , she said , the family has a 7-foot retaining wall in the backyard , and it 's never even come close to a breach . Watch flooding victims flee » . `` It really was n't a concern , '' she said . Now , without flood insurance , Harp has only one thing on her mind : Clean up . Still , `` where do you start ? '' she asked . `` Where does the family go from here ? ''
Powder Springs resident Kim Harp : `` It just came so fast . It really terrified us '' Scores of homes swallowed by muddy waters as the rain refused to subside . Entrance to Six Flags , Georgia 's largest amusement park , sitting in water .