GREENVILLE, S.C. - A sudden rainstorm Thursday morning flooded parts of Greenville, prompting some evacuations, cutting power to parts of downtown and swamping about 25 roads.

Radar estimates showed some areas west of downtown Greenville may have gotten as much as 5 inches of rain since 1 a.m. Thursday.

A rain gauge at Berea reported more than 3 inches of rain and Travelers Rest had nearly 2 inches of rain, the National Weather Service reported.

No serious injuries or deaths were reported, Greenville County Emergency Management director Scott Wendelken said.

The worst storms formed west of downtown Greenville around 8 a.m. and moved slowly north, forecasters said.

The rain finally tapered off in the early afternoon, but emergency workers worried things might continue to get worse as floodwaters moved downstream, Wendelken said. Emergency workers were also braced for the possibility of thunderstorms moving from the Midlands into the Upstate.

"Even though the waters have kind of receded, we're still having to stand by to see if we get anything additional," Wendelken said. "We're just hoping we don't get anymore rain tonight."

The rising water also knocked out power in parts of downtown Greenville, Duke Energy spokesman Tim Pettit said.

Power crews shut down a substation because of fears it might get swamped. Pettit said 6,100 customers lost power. Crews were able to restore service to 1,300 homes Thursday night., leaving about 4,800 customers without power, he said.

Duke Power expected to restore power to all customers by Friday afternoon.

The most severe flooding happened west of the city, where several roads, including parts of state Highway 253 and 153, were under water for hours. About half of the roadways were reopened by early Thursday night, officials said.

"Our dive team was out most of the morning helping people get out of cars and homes that were flooded," Greenville County Sheriff's Master Deputy Michael Hildebrand said.

At least two dozen homes were evacuated as flood waters threatened homes near Long Branch and about a dozen patients had to be taken from a nursing home, authorities said. Many people had to be rescued as cars stalled in water up to the doors, Hildebrand said.

Only a handful of evacuees went to a shelter set up at a local church, said Wendelken, who said people were likely staying with relatives and friends.

Forecasters were closely watching an earthen dam near Berea High School. A weather spotter said water was near the top of the dam, which could cause it to rupture, the weather service said.

The rain also caused the Reedy River to overflow its banks, flooding some downtown streets and closing Cleveland Park. At 3 p.m., the river was at more than 16 feet - eight feet above flood stage. It was expected to slowly subside through the evening, but would still close roads downtown and could force more evacuations, forecasters said.

Storms continued to pop up east of Greenville in the afternoon and forecasters worried flooding could start in parts of York and Chester counties that had received more than an inch of rain in storms earlier in the day.

Further east, the National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning in Darlington County.

A few roads in Hartsville were flooded, but no serious incidents were reported, county spokesman Linwood Epps said.