Heavy rains flood low areas in Charlotte and wash flotsam into creeks

The waves of heavy rain that hit Charlotte late Sunday night and early Monday overloaded drains and creeks and washed debris down the creek beds.

A small blue dumpster is stuck on the Central Avenue bridge over Briar Creek at the moment. A Charlotte Special Services truck was parked nearby.

Debris also clogged the edges of the pedestrian bridge over Briar Creek connecting Merry Oaks and nearby Plaza Midwood. Sand and mud on the bridge indicated that at some point late Sunday or early Monday, the creek overwashed the bridge.

A Charlotte Fire Department alert early Monday indicated that the department had responded to a call for "rescue and evacuation" at 1600 Masonic Drive about 1 a.m., and also responded to a person trapped in a flooded vehicle at 3800 Country Club Drive about 3:25 a.m.

For future similar situations, you can follow @charlotteFD on Twitter. And another good person to follow: Brad Panovich, or @wxbrad, chief meteorologist at News Channel 36, WCNC-NBC TV.