ATLANTA, GEORGIA — Waymo temporarily paused its autonomous vehicle service in Atlanta on Tuesday after one of its unoccupied vehicles became stranded in floodwaters during heavy rain. No passengers were inside the vehicle at the time, and no injuries were reported.

The vehicle entered a flooded area, stopped, and stalled before flood waters receded about an hour later, at which point a person cleared and drove it away. A photo sent by a viewer to 11Alive showed the vehicle driving into a flood zone.

A Waymo spokesperson issued a statement on the incident: "Safety is Waymo's top priority, both for our riders and everyone we share the road with. During a period of intense rain today in Atlanta, an unoccupied Waymo vehicle encountered a flooded road and stopped. The vehicle has been recovered and removed from the scene."

According to Waymo, the storm's rapid onset occurred before the National Weather Service issued any flash flood warning, watch, or advisory, and before other operational safety measures had been triggered. The company had implemented operational changes related to flooding following a recent recall and was developing additional software updates to improve vehicle performance around flooded roads.

Waymo said its Atlanta service will remain paused while crews monitor weather and roadway conditions, and that operations will resume once conditions are considered safe. The company did not specify a timeline for when service in Atlanta would be restored.