Heavy rains are drenching northwestern Georgia, prompting flash flood warnings in some areas.

National Weather Service meteorologist Laura Griffith says as of early afternoon, some places were seeing as much as 2 inches of rain per hour. She says areas around Dalton and Chatsworth had already seen 3 to 6 inches with another 2 to 3 inches likely to fall.

The weather service is closely monitoring creeks and rivers, but none had reached flood levels by midday.

Showers were also sprinkling the Atlanta area, which was hit hard by flooding earlier in the week.

Meanwhile, Georgia's insurance commissioner has doubled the estimated cost of flood damage to $500 million. He says the estimate is conservative and could rise.

He says 20,000 homes and other structures have suffered major damage, mainly in the area north and west of Atlanta.