Above, Mendel Fischer, 3, and his sister Lieba, 5, try to catch a few raindrops during an afternoon downpour. At top, a grocery shopper makes her way through a parking lot. The remnants of Tropical Storm Allison will dampen the Augusta area through this weekend. JONATHAN ERNST/STAFF

Richmond County dodged serious damage Tuesday from Tropical Storm Allison's downpour over the region. Although the rain was heavy at times, emergency officials were not called into action.

''Right now, we're not in a flash-flood watch,'' David Dlugolenski, director of Richmond County Emergency Management Agency, said Tuesday. ''I haven't received any reports of areas flooding.''

Less than an inch of rain had fallen in Augusta by late Tuesday.

In Columbia County, Tuesday's storm had deposited about an inch of rain by 4 p.m. but caused no flooding, said Emergency Services Director Pam Tucker.

''Over the next 24 to 36 hours, we could receive 3 1/2 to 4 inches, which would help our drought situation tremendously,'' she said.

Columbia County sheriff's Maj. Rick Whitaker said his office responded to 15 automobile wrecks during the rainfall. None involved injuries.

In South Carolina, 18 counties, including Allendale, Bamberg and Barnwell, had tornado warnings issued about 4:15 p.m. until 11 p.m. Tuesday.

The wet weather isn't going to let up. The National Weather Service predicted rains from Allison to come sporadically throughout the week, with a chance of thunderstorms through Monday.

Richmond County is not expected to experience torrential rains, as Texas did during the weekend.

Larry Vannozzi, regional warning coordination meteorologist for the National Weather Service's Southern region headquarters in Fort Worth, Texas, said the storm is slow moving and the rain will hang around but the storm's motion will prevent Augusta from getting a drenching.

Other parts of Georgia were hit harder by Allison. The storm caused flooding in extreme south-central Georgia, dumping about 11 inches of rain in southern Lowndes County.

Street and road flooding was reported in low-lying areas in Glynn, Camden, McIntosh, Coffee, Brantley, Pierce, Bacon, Ware and Wayne counties.

Associated Press reports were used in this article.

Reach Rebecca Whitehead at (706) 74-0851.